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SPAI.DJNG  "Ri-:n  COVER"  SI:IUES  OF 

ATHLETIC   HAXDHOOKS 

No.  8911 


Learning  to  Play 
Field  Hockey 


Ry 

EUSTACE   E.  WHITE 

London 

4  4  893 


Including   a    Plan    for   the    Organization   of 
Field    Hockey  in  Colleges  and    Schools   by 

MARIE   I,.    CARNS 

I'hvsical  K.hicaliim  Department,  University  of  Wisconsin 


ITHI.ISIII:I)  in- 
AMKRICAN  SPORTS   PUBLISHING  CO.       p- 

•15    liosi:  Sriu:i:r.  Ni:\\   VOKK 


n_, 

in! 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I  TACK 

First  Necessities n 

CHAPTER  II 
A  Few  Elements  of  the  Game 15 

CHAPTER  III 
Learning  the  Strokes 21 

CHAPTER  IV 
Dribbling,  Stick-Work,  Shooting 29 

CHAPTER  V 
Positions  in  the  Field 37 

CHAPTER  VI 
The  Half-Hack  Line 47 

CHAPTER  VII 
The  Forward  Line 57 

CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Team  and  Its  Tactics 67 

CHAPTER  IX  •-•.•'.    • 

To kCrirc>~Yf')U'-'I:'a:ult" ./."».-•  ...:":,•!..  .  **.  :.::-:    '75 

A -Plan  ("('r.V^e^Or^nijCfdcrfi.of  •Hockey*'/  .'.**.  '.'.      84 
By  Marie  L.  Cams 

Glossary 94 


\  o 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The    First    American    Field    Hockey    Team    to 
Visit  Great   Britain   for  International  Compe- 

tition   ........................  Frontispiece 

"7 

£•  Correct  Position  and  Attitude  of  Center-Half  at 

the  Bully  ...............................  4 

Mr.  Eustace  E.  White  ......................  8 

Grcund   Plan  of  Field   Hockey  ...............  10 

,^    Fielding  with  the  Hand  .....................  20 

<ic 

Passing   from    Left   to    Right   by    Means   of   the 
Reverse  Stroke  ...........................      27 

Driving  —  Follow   Right  Through   and  Turn  the 
Hands  Over  at  the  Finish  .................      28 

Dribbling  —  A     Correct     Example     of     the    Art. 
Keeping  the  Ball  Near  the  Sticks  ...........      35 

Half-Back  Checking  Forward  bv  Means  of  Left- 
Hand  Lunge  .............................      36 

Making  the  Push-Pass  from  Left  to  Right  ......      45 

A  Good  Way  for  Center-Forward  to  Stop  a  Cor- 
ner Hit  from  the  Right  ...................      46 

A  "Foul"—  Illegal  Tackle  ...................      56 

An  Effective  Treatment  of  a  Penalty  Corner.  ...      66 

Position  of  Attacking  Team  for  Rundown  .....      74 


PUBLISHERS'  NOTE 

Field  Hockey  is  played  in  Great  Britain  by  both  men 
and  women,  but  not  in  mixed  teams,  nor  in  mixed 
competition.  In  the  United  States  its  activities  are 
confined  principally  to  girls'  colleges  and  schools. 
Nearly  all  of  the  American  women's  institutions  of 
learning  devote  much  time  to  the  game.  Interest  in  it 
is  spreading  to  the  high  schools,  when  the  latter  have 
a  sufficient  playing  area,  either  on  the  school  ground 
or  in  parks.  In  Philadelphia,  for  instance,  there  is  an 
organized  league  of  clubs  whose  members  learned  field 
hockey  at  college  and  who  keep  up  their  interest  in 
the  game  much  as  do  the  women  of  Great  Britain  in 
"county"  and  similar  teams. 

In  the  milder  climate  of  the  British  Isles  it  is  possi- 
ble to  play  hockey  from  autumn  until  early  summer. 
In  the  United  States  the  playing  period  is  confined 
principally  to  autumn,  although  it  would  be  quite 
easy  to  hold  a  supplementary  season  in  spring  time. 
The  Ladies'  Field  of  London,  a  weekly  periodical,  de- 
votes much  space  to  Field  Hockey  in  addition  to  the 
great  variety  of  other  subjects  that  specially  interest 
women.  It  published  recently  a  series  of  articles  on 
learning  to  play  field  hockey,  by  Mr.  Eustace  E.  White, 
sports  editor.  So  thoroughly  did  these  treat  of  the 
game  that  the  publishers  of  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 
made  arrangements  with  the  author  and  Ladies'  Field 
to  reproduce  them  in  book  form  for  the  benefit  of  field 
hockey  players  in  the  United  States. 

After  the  first  few  chapters  had  appeared  in  Ladies' 
Field  a  famous  international  player  and  English  cap- 

5 


6  Spaldiiig's  Athletic  Library 

tain  wrote  to  the  publishers  expressing  his  appreciation 
of  Mr.  White's  articles.  He  said: 

"I  have  been  interested  in  your  series  of  articles  on 
Field  Hockey.  I  think  they  should  be  of  great  help, 
as  after  the  dearth  of  hockey  articles  during  the  war, 
players  were  much  in  need  of  instruction.  The  new 
generation  now  coming  to  the  front  has  not  had  the 
help  the  older  ones  had  of  constant  coaching  and  hints 
on  play.  The  thing  that  strikes  one  most  is  their  keen- 
ness and  want  of  knowledge  to  direct  their  play.  Will 
you  draw  attention  to  the  growth  in  striking  at  sticks, 
which  is  very  prevalent?  I  hope  that  all  the  players 
will  read  and  benefit  by  your  series." 

A  "county"  captain  wrote:  "I  have  been  reading 
with  interest  the  articles  that  have  appeared  in  the 
Ladies'  Field  on  field  hockey  and  should  like  all  players 
to  have  the  benefit  of  the  advice  given.  The  schools 
should  be  encouraged  to  read  all  these  articles,  as  they 
are  most  instructive." 

That  Mr.  White  is  thoroughly  qualified  to  write 
with  authority  upon  field  hockey  will  be  apparent  in 
the  short  biography  of  him  which  is  presented  in  this 
volume.  His  admonition  to  "know  the  rules"  is  ad- 
vice, which,  it  is  needless  to  say,  is  the  foundation  of 
skill  in  any  sport.  Too  often  contests  are  lost  in  all 
kinds  of  games  through  ignorance  of  some  simple  law 
which  is  as  much  a  part  of  the  sport  as  the  implement 
with  which  it  is  played.  Every  hockey  player  should 
have  a  copy  of  the  Official  Guide  and  study  the  rules 
thoroughly.  Merely  glancing  over  them  is  not  of 

value. 

AMERICAN  SPORTS  PUBLISHING  Co. 


MR.  EUSTACE  E.  WHITE 

Mr.  Eustace  E.  White  is  a  son  of  the  late  Colonel 
Charles  Mills  White.  Born  in  India,  he  was  edu- 
cated at  Hereford  Cathedral  School  and  Corpus  Christi 
College,  Cambridge,  where  he  took  a  B.A.  degree  in 
classics.  True  to  a  resolve  formed  at  the  age  of  twelve 
he  became  a  schoolmaster  and,  after  filling  two  or 
three  posts,  started  and  maintained  for  six  or  seven 
years,  a  very  successful  preparatory  boys'  school  of  his 
own  in  the  West  of  England,  which  was  speciallv 
noted  for  the  good  style  and  success  of  the  boys  at 
cricket,  hockey  and  other  games. 

With  a  natural  tast  for  writing  and  lured  by  the 
romance  of  journalism  he  gave  up  his  school  and  went 
to  London  where  he  became  sports  correspondent  and 
then  sports  editor  of  the  Ladies'  Field,  the  leading 
paper  devoted  to  ladies'  sport.  As  a  specialist  in 
women's  sport  he  stands  alone,  including  hockey,  lawn 
tennis,  golf,  lacrosse,  archery,  skating,  fencing,  croquet, 
rifle  shooting,  badminton,  swimming,  not  to  mention 
cricket,  foot  ball  and  athletics,  on  all  of  which  he  has 
written  much  and  with  authority. 

At  Cambridge  he  was  captain  of  his  college  foot 
ball  and  cricket  teams  and  president  of  the  athletic 
club.  While  still  at  school  he  played  cricket  for  his 
county,  and  later  foot  ball.  In  lawn  tennis  he  won 
the  county  championship  and  several  prizes  at  open 
tournaments,  but  had  not  the  necessary  leisure  or  op- 
portunity for  full  development. 

On  taking  up  hockey  he  evinced  for  the  game  the 
same  aptitude  as  for  other  sports.  He  at  once  got 


MR.  EUSTACE  E.  WHITE 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  9 

into  the  county  team  as  an  outside-right,  but,  dis- 
satisfied with  his  position,  moved  to  center-half,  where 
he  found  much  greater  scope  for  his  energy,  quickness 
and  watchfulness. 

Determined  to  get  with  the  West  of  England  team, 
which  was  drawn  from  the  seven  Western  counties 
he  perfected  himself  by  diligent  practise  in  stick-work 
and  strokes.  Eventually  he  was  picked  for  the  West 
and  played  against  all  the  other  territories,  captaining 
the  team  his  last  match.  He  represented  the  West 
on  the  English  Hockey  Association  Council.  On  giving 
up  hockey  his  enthusiasm  for  the  game  found  an  outlet 
in  writing  about  it  and  umpiring.  After  doing  a  small 
book  on  "Women's  Hockey,"  he  wrote  "The  Complete 
Hockey  Player"  (Methuen),  the  standard  book  on 
the  game.  Later,  with  Mr.  Eric  Green,  the  famous 
international,  as  co-author,  he  wrote  "Hockey"  foi 
Eveleigh  Nash's  National  Library  of  Sports  and  Pas- 
times, editing  the  library  with  Mr.  E.  H.  Ryle,  the  old 
Cambridge  quarter-miler. 

Devoting  himself  to  ladies'  hockey  he  has  for  up- 
wards of  ten  years  umpired  for  Surrey,  the  South, 
and  England,  and  on  several  occasions  for  Scotland 
and  Ireland.  As  an  umpire  he  is  quiet  and  firm  and 
believes  in  blowing  the  whistle  as  little  as  possible. 
"Off-side,"  "turning  on  the  ball"  and  "illegal  tackling' 
are  offenses  for  which  he  allows  no  quarter.  Hi? 
knowledge  of  the  sport  naturally  inspires  confidence  on 
the  part  of  the  players.  His  motto  is,  "no  fear,  no 
favor." 

He  carries  equal  weight  as  an  authority  on  lawn 
tennis,  and  Mile.  Lenglen's  "Lawn  Tennis  for  Girls,"* 
which  he  edited  in  English  for  the  famous  young  French 
player,  has  been  pronounced  a  most  instructive  book. 

'  Si>al<ling's    Athletic    Library    (25    cents). 


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Spalding's  Athletic  Library 


CHAPTER  I 
FIRST  NECESSITIES 

Hockey  is  a  good  game.  One  hour  of  it 
will  give  you  as  much  exercise  as  you  will 
want  in  the  twenty-four.  It  is,  as  a  game, 
an  unselfish  game.  You  cannot  play  for 
your  own  hand,  ignoring  the  interests  of  the 
other  ten  players,  and  remain  any  length  of 
time  in  a  good  team.  Out  you  go,  unless 
you  think  of  the  team  before  yourself.  Un- 
selfish players  do  not  always  receive  their 
proper  share  of  credit,  but  there  is  always 
someone  in  authority,  on  the  selection  com- 
mittee, who  has  the  necessary  discernment 
and  will  see  to  it  that  they  do  not  suffer. 

So,  then,  hockey  being  a  good  game,  you 
will  adhere  to  your  intention  to  take  it  up, 
or  to  continue  it  after  leaving  school,  as  the 
case  may  be.  Do  not  rush  off  and  buy  a  stick 
without  knowing  exactly  what  you  ought  to 
have.  The  common  tendency  is  towards 


1 2  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

over-heavy  sticks.  This  is  sacrificing  quick- 
ness to  power.  Asked  why  they  use  heavy 
sticks  in  preference  to  light  ones,  players 
will  give  as  their  reason,  either  that  they 
can  hit  harder  or  shoot  harder  with  the 
former. 

Except  for  backs  there  is  little  hard  hit- 
ting in  modern  hockey;  and  as  for  shooting, 
how  many  shots  at  goal  does  an  individual 
forward  get  in  the  course  of  a  closely  con- 
tested match?  Very  few.  So  their  reason 
for  using  heavy  sticks  does  not  seem  a  very 
good  one. 

So  much  of  forward  and  half-back  play 
in  modern  hockey  is  finessing  and  wrist 
work.  For  this  a  light  stick  is,  of  course, 
best.  The  absolute  limit  in  ladies'  hockey 
should  be  22  ounces,  and  that  for  a  back. 
No  forward  or  half-back  should  require 
anything  over  20  ounces  or  21  ounces  at 
most,  in  the  case  of  an  exceptionally  strong 
or  heavy  player. 

Many  of  the  old  heavy  sticks  would  have 
weighed  2  ounces  to  3  ounces  less  had  they 
been  better  made.  A  really  well  made,  well 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  1 3 

balanced  stick  of  20  ounces,  with  the  wood 
evenly  distributed  over  a  not  too  long  blade, 
and  a  nice  medium,  whippy  handle,  has  all 
the  power  of  a  heavier  stick  built  on  clum- 
sier lines.  You  cannot  be  too  particular  in 
choosing  your  stick.  Knowledge  will  help 
you  to  a  correct  choice. 

Having  decided  that  you  will  qualify  as 
a  forward  you  know  that  you  must  look  out 
for  a  20  ounce  stick  or  less.  If  money  is  a 
consideration  choose  a  stick  with  broad 
grain,  for  this  is  more  durable;  if  not,  you 
may  choose  a  narrow  grain,  for  the  ball  goes 
off  this  sweeter.  Test  various  sticks  and 
never  take  the  one  that  does  not  "come  up" 
well.  Do  you  understand  the  phrase?  It 
is  really  another  way  of  saying  "well  bal- 
anced.'' A  stick  that  "comes  up"  well  seems 
almost  to  spring  of  itself  off  the  floor  as  you 
take  it  up  and  back  for  an  imaginary  stroke. 
And  take  care  of  your  stick  when  you  have 
one.  Rub  a  little  raw  linseed  oil  over  the 
blade  once  a  week,  and  always  after  a  we* 
and  muddy  match  carefully  clean  and  dry 
vour  stick  and  oil  it.  One  other  point — a 


1 4  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

rubber  grip  on  the  handle  is  almost  uni- 
versal. 

I  am  not  going  to  dogmatize  about  protec- 
tion for  the  hands.  Batting  gloves  are  often 
worn  in  men's  hockey.  Personally  I  always 
wore  an  old  pair  of  white  kid  gloves,  the 
relic  of  a  dance.  They  kept  the  hands  warm, 
gave  a  nice  clinging  grip  and  enabled  one  to 
field  the  fastest  ball  without  sting.  This  was 
the  identical  form  of  hand-protection  often 
affected  by  players  in  international  matches. 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library 


CHAPTER  II 
A  FEW  ELEMENTS  OF  THE  GAME 

Much  of  the  bad  hitting  at  hockey  is  due 
to  a  wrong  hold  of  the  stick.  The  first 
maxim  for  a  clean  hit  is  "keep  the  hands 
close  together/'  The  only  times  when  the 
right  hand  may  be  separated  from  the  left  is 
for  dribbling  and  push-passing.  Do  not  lift 
the  stick  up  abruptly;  let  it  go  back  more 
smoothly,  after  the  golf  fashion.  The  result 
of  the  abrupt,  upright  backswing  is  a  chop, 
rather  than  a  hit,  which  causes  the  ball  to 
get  up,  to  the  danger  of  opponents. 

As  you  may  not  raise  the  stick  above  the 
shoulder,  you  will  see  that  the  power  must 
be  applied  with  forearms  and  wrists.  Re- 
member to  let  the  stick,  hands  and  arms  fol- 
low through  after  the  ball  has  been  hit,  and 
in  the  direction  the  ball  is  meant  to  take. 
To  prevent  "sticks11  at  the  end  of  the  follow- 
through,  turn  the  hands  over  from  right  to 


16  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

left;  but  do  not  attempt  this  last  until  you 
can  hit  the  ball  cleanly.  If  you  attempt  it 
before,  you  will  smother  the  hit.  And  do  be 
careful  to  see  the  ball  when  you  actually 
hit  it.  That,  of  course,  is  another  way  of 
putting  the  old,  old  precept,  "Keep  your  eye 
on  the  ball." 

Far  too  much  practise  in  ladies'  hockey 
consists  of  shooting  at  goal.  Why  not  vary 
this  by  placing  a  touch  flag  in  the  ground 
and  aiming  at  it?  It  would  tend  to  greater 
accuracy  besides  being  quite  amusing. 

If  you  would  be  accurate  at  hockey  you 
must  think  more  about  the  second  half  of  the 
hit  than  the  first. 

I  wish  you  could  see  some  of  the  leading 
women  players  hitting  corners  or  centering 
from  outside  right.  Why?  Because  they 
see  the  ball  when  they  hit  it  and  because  they 
follow  through  after  the  ball.  Of  course,  a 
good  eye,  keeping  the  hands  close  together 
and  gripping  tight  at  the  moment  of  hitting 
are  essential;  but  these  would  avail  little  if 
the  first  two  were  neglected.  Hockey  would 
be  so  much  easier  if  the  player  would  re- 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  17 

member  to  keep  her  "eye  on  the  ball  and 
follow  through." 

It  is,  too,  the  foundation  of  a  good  style. 
I  know  how  eager  beginners  are  to  get  on 
to  the  field  and  play  a  game  of  hockey.  It 
is  the  set  game  that  appeals  to  them.  That 
is  very  natural ;  but  I  am  quite  sure  it  would 
be  very  much  better  to  learn  the  strokes  of 
the  game  and  its  various  other  parts  and  to 
acquire  some  proficiency  with  your  stick  be- 
fore attempting  a  game  itself.  How  easy 
and  pleasant  to  train  a  team  of  players  start- 
ing thus  equipped!  What  confusion  when 
beginners,  with  little  or  no  previous  instruc- 
tion, assemble  for  their  first  game.  I  know, 
because  I  have  often  had  to  handle  such  a 
situation.  My  task  has  been  to  discover 
what  places  the  players  were  fitted  for,  in- 
struct each  in  the  duties  of  her  position,  start 
a  game  and  keep  it  going;  and  all  this  in  one 
short  afternoon ! 

The  first  few  days  of  practise  at  any  rate 
should  be  devoted  to  learning  the  game 
piecemeal.  That  is  the  better  way,  and  I 
recommend  it  to  all  games  mistresses. 


'8  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

If  these  lessons  are  to  fulfil  their  purpose, 
they  must  not  be  monotonous.  So  1  am 
going  to  break  away  from  hitting  the  ball 
and  talk  a  little  about  a  very  important 
branch  of  hockey,  namely,  "fielding." 

Do  you  know  what  you  may  field  with? 
I  remember  once  being  called  to  book  by  an 
ignorant  player  for  fielding  with  my  hand. 
He  argued  the  point — until  I  had  the  im- 
modesty to  inform  him  that  I  had  written  a 
book  on  the  game!  Yes,  you  may  field  with 
your  hand.  And  your  feet?  Yes,  with 
them,  too.  In  fact,  you  may  field  with  any 
and  every  part  of  your  person,  if  so  minded. 

But  the  proper,  the  best,  instrument  for 
fielding  is  the  stick.  And  the  only  way  to 
learn  to  field  with  the  stick  is  to  field  with 
it  on  every  possible  occasion.  You  will 
never  field  well  with  the  stick  unless  you 
watch  the  ball  closely.  It  is  difficult  on  a 
bumpy  ground,  but  not  impossible  if  you 
watch  the  ball  on  to  the  stick.  One  of  the 
chief  differences  between  good  and  bad 
players  is  that  the  former  fields  with  the 
stick,  the  latter  with  the  feet  and  legs. 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  19 

In  hitting  practise  never  field  with  any- 
thing except  the  stick.  But  you  must  not 
neglect  the  hand.  A  few  minutes  separate 
practise  of  this  every  time  you  turn  out 
should  suffice.  Hold  your  stick  in  your  left 
hand,  place  your  heels  together,  with  toes 
turned  out,  and  field  the  ball  with  the  right 
hand,  palm  outwards  and  fingers  pointing  to 
the  ground.  When  the  ball  is  coming 
straight  towards  you,  a  simple  plan  is  to  field 
it  with  the  sole  of  the  foot.  This  is  very 
effective  in  the  case  of  corners,  when  it  is  so 
necessary  to  act  promptly. 

The  more  usual  way  of  fielding  with  the 
feet  is  to  place  them  together  and  let  the 
ball  strike  the  boots  or  leg  guards.  Fielding 
with  one  leg  generally  results  in  the  ball 
glancing  off.  Players  must  exercise  their 
common  sense  about  fielding.  A  bumping 
ball  to  a  wing  forward,  unless  she  is  closely 
marked,  should  be  fielded  with  the  hand, 
otherwise  a  golden  opening  may  be  lost. 


Q    v. 

y.   « 


r"  "^ 

r"1    si 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  21 


CHAPTER  III 
LEARNING  THE  STROKES 

Now  you  are  ready  to  learn  the  different 
strokes  used  in  hockey.  The  drive,  which  is 
simply  a  hard  hit  by  a  back  or  a  fast  shot  by 
a  forward,  you  have  already  learned.  There 
is  a  second  form  of  this  stroke  known  as  the 
mow.  No  need  to  describe  it;  the  name 
does  that  for  us.  It  is  an  ugly  stroke ;  please 
avoid  it! 

The  drive  deals  with  a  ball  on  your  right 
side.  What  are  you  to  do  with  a  ball  on 
your  left  side?  How  are  you  to  hit  it?  If 
you  were  allowed  to  use  the  back  of  your 
stick  it  would  be  simple  enough;  but  the 
rules  will  not  let  you  do  that.  Of  course, 
you  could  run  around  the  ball  and  put  it  on 
your  right  side,  but  that  is  not  always  pos- 
sible, and  it  wastes  time.  What  you  must 
do  is  to  turn  the  stick  over  with  the  toe 
of  it  pointing  towards  you  and  play  what  is 


Saldiii's  .  -Itlilclic  Lihnirv 


called  the  ri'Vi'rsi'  stroke.  This  stroke  is 
most  clearly  illustrated  in  the  photograph. 
The  stroke,  you  observe,  is  from  left  to 
right;  the  player  has  her  right  hand  below 
her  left;  she  plays  the  ball  when  it  is  oppo- 
site her  right  foot  and  when  her  right  foot 
is  in  advance  of  her  left;  she  makes  the 
stroke  almost  entirely  with  hands  and  wrists  ; 
she  keeps  her  head  down  and  is  looking  at 
the  ball  until  she  has  hit  it;  and  finally  she 
plays  the  ball  when  it  is  well  under  and  near 
to  her  right  foot. 

In  all  these  things  she  is  quite  right. 
Please  copy!  I  want  to  add  a  few  points 
that  cannot  be  seen  in  the  picture.  Grip 
very  tightly  with  the  fingers;  play  the  shot 
with  confidence;  make  the  swing  as  short  as 
possible.  The  reverse  stroke  is  more  a  flick 
than  a  hit.  It  is  very  useful  in  forward  play  ; 
a  half-back,  especially  a  left  half-back,  will 
often  employ  it,  while  it  is  essential  to  good 
stick  work.  Do  not  yield  to  the  temptation 
to  use  as  a  fancy  stroke  what  is  only  an 
emergency  stroke.  Properly  timed,  the  re- 
verse stroke  will  despatch  the  ball  at  a  great 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  23 

pace.  I  remember  one  outside  left  who  could 
center  the  ball  from  the  corner  flag  with  the 
reverse  almost  as  fast  as  outside  right  with 
the  ordinary  right  to  left  hit.  You  will 
never  make  this  stroke  with  any  certainty 
unless  you  often  practise  it.  To  practise  it 
run  down  the  field  passing,  with  a  player  on 
your  right.  Coming  back,  reverse  the  posi- 
tions. The  first  time  I  saw  a  player  make 
this  stroke  effectively  I  thought  it  very  won- 
derful. There  is  nothing  at  all  wonderful 
about  the  "reverse,"  as  you  yourselves  will 
discover  after  you  have  practised  it  for  a 
while. 

My  own  pet  stroke  as  a  center-half  was 
the  left-hand  lunge.  It  was  a  natural  stroke 
which  I  never  had  to  learn,  but  only  devel- 
oped. It  is  a  back-hand  stroke  and  requires 
a  strong  wrist,  which  is  why  girls  play  it, 
as  a  rule,  so  seldom  and  so  weakly.  The 
special  value  of  this  lunge  is  the  extended 
reach  it  gives  a  player.  Take  the  photo- 
graph and  in  imagination  bring  the  player's 
right  hand  down  to  its  usual  place  below  the 
left.  See  how  her  reach  is  shortened?  This 


24  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

extra  foot  or  more  of  reach  is  of  great  im- 
portance. Against  players  unfamiliar  with 
it  the  lunge  is  specially  effective.  It  takes 
them  by  surprise.  They  think  they  are  well 
out  of  a  half-back's  reach  when  suddenly 
they  find  themselves  checked  by  a  stick 
which  seems  to  have  grown  several  feet  in 
length. 

Note  the  picture!  The  stroke  is  being 
very  correctly  played — left  arm  fully  ex- 
tended, left  leg  well  in  advance  of  right, 
right  arm  thrown  well  back  to  expand  chest 
and  give  extra  reach  and  power,  and  wrist 
well  round  at  back  of  handle.  This  is  an 
action  photograph  taken  during  the  actual 
playing  of  the  stroke. 

And  while  you  are  looking  at  this  picture, 
look  a  little  further  and  carry  your  eyes  to 
the  other  player,  a  forward,  dribbling  the 
ball.  Notice  that  her  right  hand  is  sep- 
arated from  her  left,  as  it  should  be  for 
close  dribbling,  and  no  harm  if  it  were  a 
little  lower  on  the  handle,  for  this  would 
give  the  player  n  ore  power  and  more  con- 
trol of  the  ball. 


S  paid  ing's  Athletic  Library  25 

What  1  like  so  about  these  two  young 
players,  both  keen  members  of  their  school 
team,  is  the  way  they  look  at  the  ball.  They 
have  eyes  for  nothing  else. 

Another  recognized  stroke  is  one  called 
the  right-hand  cut.  It  is  used  in  defense, 
usually  by  a  half  or  back  crossing  an  oppo- 
nent from  the  left,  and  is  made  by  holding 
the  stick  reversed  in  the  right  hand. 

Players  who  are  clever  at  stick-work  often 
get  a  ball  on  their  left  into  control  again 
by  reversing  the  stick  and  holding  it  in  the 
left  hand.  This  should,  no  doubt,  be  called 
the  left-hand  cut,  but  first-class  players 
never  bother  their  heads  with  names.  They 
just  make  the  strokes.  The  origin  of  the 
more  unusual  strokes  is  resourcefulness  and 
ingenuity.  Necessity  being  the  mother  of 
invention,  a  player  must  find  some  way  of 
playing  the  ball  in  whatever  situation  she 
finds  herself.  That  is  how  new  strokes  orig- 
inate, and  then  someone  labels  them  with  a 
name. 

Take  the  job.  Players  use  this  stroke 
without  ever  knowing  that  is  its  name.  It 


26  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

is  far  easier  to  play  than  define.  The  arm 
is  stretched  out  to  its  full  extent,  the  back  of 
the  stick  laid  on  the  ground,  with  the  face 
uppermost.  A  series  of  quick  thrusts  at  the 
ball  will  keep  the  player  in  touch  with  it 
until  she  can  get  near  enough  for  a  proper 
hit.  It  can  be  played  with  either  hand. 
Racks  use  it  most. 


- 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  29 


CHAPTER  IV 

DRIBBLING,  STICK-WORK, 
SHOOTING 

Whether  you  are  qualifying  for  the  posi- 
tion of  forward,  half-back  or  back,  drib- 
bling concerns  you.  Though  required  to 
dribble  much  less  than  forwards,  half-backs 
and  backs  are  all  the  better  for  striving  to 
become  expert  dribblers.  A  half-back  who 
can  herself  dribble  well  is  much  more  likely 
to  cope  successfully  with  a  clever  forward 
than  one  who  cannot.  She  knows  what  to 
expect;  and  anticipating  the  move  of  an 
opponent  is  really  more  than  half  the  bat- 
tle. And  yet  it  is  quite  a  common  belief  that 
dribbling  is  the  special  monopoly  of  for- 
wards. So,  whoever  you  are,  learn  to 
dribble. 

The  first  point  in  dribbling  is  to  keep  con- 
trol of  the  ball.  That  means  chiefly  never 
to  let  the  ball  out  of  stick's  length.  Hitting 


30  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

the  ball  ahead  and  then  running  after  it  is 
not  dribbling.  That  is  commonly  known  in 
hockey  as  "hit-and-rush"  tactics  which  good 
forwards  will  deliberately  adopt  in  certain 
conditions,  as,  for  example,  when  the  ground 
is  very  muddy  or  too  rough  for  accurate 
dribbling.  The  hit-and-rush  method  may 
be  used  to  advantage  also  when  a  fast  for- 
ward gets  away  by  herself  and  has  only  the 
backs  between  her  and  the  circle.  With  no 
ball  to  control  she  can  make  full  use  of  her 
pace.  So  she  hits  it  past  the  backs  and  runs 
after  it;  and  she  is  careful,  or  should  be, 
to  hit  the  ball  to  the  right  of  her  opponent, 
that  is,  to  the  latter's  left  side,  the  more  dif- 
ficult side  to  field  on,  for  the  stick  must  be 
reversed. 

Please  notice  the  player  in  the  picture. 
She  is  observing  the  first  rule  in  dribbling 
and  is  keeping  the  ball  near  her  stick.  She 
is  also  holding  her  right  hand  low  on  the 
handle;  she  is  dribbling  with  the  ball  in 
front  of  her  instead  of  on  her  right  side, 
and  finally  she  is  keeping  her  head  down  and 
her  eye  on  the  ball. 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  31 

All  this  is  as  it  should  be.  The  right  hand 
down  there  means  power,  quickness,  con- 
trol; it  is  easier  to  dribble  with  the  ball  in 
front  because  the  stick  is  more  upright  and 
the  ball  more  directly  under  the  eye;  and 
as  to  head  down,  etc.,  that  is  obvious. 

Take  particular  notice  of  having  the  ball 
in  front  of  you.  It  means,  in  addition  to 
the  advantages  named,  that  the  player  is 
less  impeded  and  can  forge  ahead  faster  than 
if  she  is  coaxing  the  ball  along  at  her  side. 

The  best  dribblers  propel  the  ball  by 
quick  little  thrusts  or  pats.  Grounds  are  sel- 
dom true  enough  to  permit  of  the  ball  being 
run  along  the  ground  without  its  leaving  the 
stick.  The  method,  however,  is  not  unknown 
in  the  best  hockey. 

An  important  part  of  dribbling  is  to  keep 
opponents  on  your  left  side,  the  side  from 
which  it  is  dangerous  for  them  to  attempt  to 
tackle  you. 

Stick-work  comes  a  great  deal  into  drib- 
bling; it  means  simply  an  adroit  handling 
of  the  stick,  the  ability  to  divert  the  ball 
this  way  or  that,  to  make  all  the  possible 


32  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

strokes  of  the  game  spontaneously  and  in- 
stantaneously. Good  stick-work  is  the  abil- 
ity to  deal  with  the  ball  directly  it  is  within 
reach  of  the  stick.  The  West  of  England 
once  had  an  ambidextrous  player  who  could 
take  the  ball  on  the  volley,  whichever  side 
it  came,  and  carry  it  along  without  letting 
it  touch  the  ground  for  20  or  30  yards,  occa- 
sionally twice  as  far,  going  at  a  high  speed 
meanwhile.  I  have  never  seen  anyone  so 
clever  in  manipulating  the  stick.  Right  and 
left  hand  "cuts,"  lunges,  "jobs,"  reverses, 
were  all  used  in  dribbling. 

The  "push"  pass,  used  by  every  player  on 
the  field,  has  been  very  fashionable  since 
short  passing  took  the  place  of  the  old-fash- 
ioned long  passing.  This  stroke,  very  simi- 
lar to  the  "scoop,"  and  essential  to  good 
dribbling,  is  made  chiefly  from  left  to  right. 
It  is  made  with  a  strong  push  of  the  wrists 
and  without  drawing  the  stick  back.  Every 
member  of  the  forward  line  uses  it  fre- 
quently, except  outside-right,  who  will, 
however,  occasionally  use  the  right  to  left 
"push"  pass.  The  only  difference  between 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  33 

this  pass  and  the  "scoop"  is  that  the  latter 
raises  the  ball  off  the  ground. 

Observe  the  player  in  the  illustration.  She 
is  making  the  push-pass  when  the  ball  is  well 
away  from  her  on  her  right.  She  is,  or 
should  be,  making  it  with  a  turn  of  the 
wrists  from  left  to  right  rather  than  a  turn 
of  the  body  in  that  direction.  She  might 
with  advantage,  I  think,  have  the  right  hand 
a  trifle  lower.  She  is  holding  rather  a  long 
handle  for  a  wrist  pass. 

Shooting  is,  as  it  were,  the  grand  finale, 
up  to  which  the  rest  of  the  game  has  been 
leading.  The  space  in  which  shooting  is 
permissible  is  very  confined,  the  outer  edge 
of  the  shooting  circle — really  only  half- 
circle — being  only  15  yards  from  the  goal. 

With  the  shooting  circle  so  small  and  the 
goal  only  4  yards  wide  and  7  feet  high,  how 
important,  when  you  reach  the  circle,  to 
shoot  correctly! 

Instant  action  on  reaching  the  circle  is  im- 
perative. The  usual  advice  to  young  play- 
ers is,  shoot  at  once  and  as  hard  as  you  can 
and  follow  up  your  shot. 


34  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

For  shots  from  the  edge  of  the  circle  the 
recipe  is — look  once  at  the  part  of  the  goal 
you  mean  to  aim  for,  then  look  at  the  ball, 
grip  your  stick  tightly,  run  no  risk  of  giving 
"sticks,"  put  all  your  wrist  and  forearm 
into  the  shot,  and  follow-through.  Always 
follow  up  your  shots  and  the  shots  of  fellow 
forwards,  though  occasionally  it  may  be  ad- 
visable for  a  forward  to  hang  back  for  the 
goalkeeper's  clearing. 


i 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  37 


CHAPTER  V 

POSITIONS  IN  THE  FIELD 
THE  BACK  DIVISION 

If  you  cannot  decide  yourself  what  posi- 
tion in  the  field  you  are  best  fitted  for,  ask 
someone  with  experience  to  decide  for  you. 
So  many  young  players,  and  older  ones,  too, 
have  become  fixtures  in  a  certain  position, 
not  because  they  are  fitted  for  it,  but  because 
having  started  there,  they  think  they  are 
bound  to  that  position  for  the  rest  of  their 
lives  and  can  play  in  no  other. 

Are  you  naturally  a  hard  hitter,  fonder 
of  hitting  the  ball  than  finessing  with  it,  then 
you  are  certainly  a  back.  An  upright  com- 
manding style  generally  marks  the  back. 
The  player  who  gets  down  to  her  work  and 
always  wants  to  be  where  the  ball  is  is  much 
more  likely  to  be  a  half-back. 

I  am  quite  sure  of  this,  that  unless  you 
are  an  energetic  player  of  the  worrying  type, 

4  4  5  !>  5 


38  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

the  type  that  never  gives  up,  never  leaves 
off  plaguing  an  opponent  with  the  ball,  you 
are  not  cut  out  for  a  half-back. 

Of  this,  too,  you  may  be  perfectly  certain, 
that  unless  you  are  a  clean  hitter  and  a  safe 
fielder  the  position  of  back  is  not  for  you.t 

Goalkeepers  in  ladies'  hockey  do  not  use 
the  hands  nearly  enough.  They  have  more 
time  to  do  so  than  in  men's  hockey  where 
the  forwards  are  naturally  quicker  in  fol- 
lowing up  their  shots. 

I  have  always  felt  that  goalkeeping  might 
be  fare  more  interesting  and  enjoyable  if 
goalkeepers  knew  how  to  field  with  their 
hands. 

To  me  almost  the  most  fascinating  part 
of  cricket  was  ground-fielding.  There  was 
nothing  peculiar  in  this,  for  many  others 
who  play  cricket  have  the  same  fondness 
for  fielding.  There  is  something  very  satis- 
fying in  fielding  a  ball  cleanly  and  in  good 
style.  For  the  moment  you  are  the  most  im- 
portant player  on  the  field,  which  is  some- 
thing, while  to  have  the  ball  all  to  yourself 
is  gratifying  and  brings  you  into  the  picture. 


S folding's  Athletic  Library  39 

How  much  better  to  stop  with  your  hand 
the  hard  shot  that  is  aimed  at  goal  than 
to  take  a  wild  hit  at  it,  and  missing,  to  cover 
yourself  with  confusion. 

Let  me  quite  briefly  tell  the  goalkeeper 
what  she  ought  to  do  and  avoid  doing. 

Stand  in  goal  a  foot  over  the  goal-line, 
not  behind  it;  stand  rather  to  the  left,  so  that 
right  hand,  right  foot  and  stick  may  guard 
the  greater  part  of  the  goal.  Hold  the  stick 
in  the  right  hand. 

As  the  opposing  forwards  near  the  circle, 
move  to  the  side  where  the  ball  is.  In  clear- 
ing hit  hard  away  to  the  touch-line.  Al- 
ways face  the  shot  squarely  whichever  side 
it  comes  from.  Never  treat  a  slow  shot  care- 
lessly. Keep  your  eye  on  the  ball  or  you 
will  rue  it. 

Remember  that  good  forwards  place  their 
shots.  Watch  them  closely  and  you  will 
often  anticipate  their  intentions.  The  best 
goalkeepers  seem  to  act  as  a  magnet  to  the 
ball.  That  is  because  they  see  where  the 
forward  means  to  shoot  and  get  there  in 
time.  Come  out  of  goal  only  when  you 


40  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

know  you  will  reach  the  ball  first.  You  may 
not  hand  the  ball — I  wish  you  might — but 
you  may  kick  it.  Do  so  more  often  and 
more  vigorously. 

"Should  I  ever  take  a  flying  hit?"  asks 
many  a  goalkeeper.  Yes,  certainly — when 
you  are  pressed  and  when  you  can  get  noth- 
ing else  to  the  ball.  See  that  your  backs  do 
not  block  your  view  of  the  ball  at  such  times 
as  corners  and  penalty  corners,  when,  re- 
member, there  should  never  be  more  than 
two  players  besides  yourself  between  the 
goal  posts.  I  said  just  now,  clear  to  the 
touch-lines,  but  if  you  see  a  safe  opening 
for  a  pass  down-field,  hit  there. 

One  final  bit  of  advice  to  all  players :  See 
that  you  are  warmly  clad  enough  for  the 
cold  winds  that  so  often  blow  during  the 
hockey  season.  No  player  is  at  her  best 
when  her  blood  is  frozen. 

I  want  to  address  a  few  hints  to  the  backs 
—to  the  right  back  first.  It  is  usual  in  first- 
class  hockey  for  the  right  back  to  play  a 
little  further  up  the  field  than  her  partner; 
so  for  this  reason,  if  for  no  other,  the  right 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

back  needs  pace.  The  tendency  in  ladies' 
hockey  is  for  the  backs  to  stand  too  deep,  too 
far  behind  their  halves  and  forwards,  and 
a  shockingly  bad  tendency  it  is.  They  stand 
thus  deep  for  defensive  reasons,  forgetting 
that  attack  is  the  best  kind  of  defence. 

England,  not  many  years  ago,  had  a  back 
who  played  close  up  behind  her  halves  and 
gave  her  forwards  almost  more  than  they 
wanted  to  do!  This  was  Miss  A.  Murray, 
of  Sussex.  She  was  almost  unique  in  ladies' 
hockey.  I  wish  there  were  more  like  her. 
Of  course,  she  sometimes  paid  the  penalty 
of  her  boldness;  but  how  much  oftener  did 
her  policy  succeed!  Fast  backs  can, .  of 
course,  afford  to  stand  further  up  than  slow 
ones. 

As  right  back  you  have  one  friend  and 
one  foe  under  your  special  charge — inner 
right  and  inner  left.  You  must  get  the  ball 
to  the  former  when  she  is  unmarked,  and 
stop  the  latter  when  she  is  breaking  away. 
But  at  times  you  will  have  to  attend  to  other 
players,  and  it  is  quite  likely  that  in  the 
course  of  some  matches  you  will  be  asked 


42  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

to  tackle  every  forward  in  the  opposing 
line,  save  outer  right. 

In  order  to  have  as  much  of  the  game  as 
possible  on  your  right  stand  about  midway 
between  the  opposing  center  and  inner  left. 
You  will  do  a  good  deal  of  intercepting, 
and  will  find  that  left-hand  lunge  very  use- 
ful. Do  not  worry  because  you  cannot  al- 
ways get  possession  of  the  ball  after  tackling 
the  left  inner.  If  your  tackle  has  made  her 
pass  the  ball,  you  have  done  something. 
Then  combine  with  your  right  half;  have 
an  understanding  with  her,  and  be  ready  to 
receive  a  pass  from  her  in  an  emergency. 

You  will  often  use  the  push-pass.  More 
especially  in  attack,  keep  the  ball  in  play. 
Remember  to  stand  more  to  the  right  when 
a  corner  is  being  hit  by  your  own  side,  in 
order  to  intercept  the  clearing  hit,  which 
will  be  to  the  touch-line. 

In  some  ways  left  back  is  a  more  awkward 
position  than  right.  In  the  former  position 
you  so  often  find  yourself  running  towards 
the  touch-line  with  the  game  on  your  left, 
obliged  to  use  the  difficult  reverse  stroke 
or  unable  to  tackle  for  fear  of  a  foul. 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  43 

The  picture  gives  an  example  of  an  illegal 
tackle  on  the  left.  Inner  right  is  dribbling 
down  the  field,  and  the  left  back,  overtak- 
ing her,  tackles  her  from  the  left  and 
touches  her  before  touching  the  ball.  This 
is  one  of  the  things  you  must  avoid.  How? 
Well,  why  not  tackle  her  from  the  other 
side — run  round  her? 

Like  your  partner,  you  have  two  players 
to  look  after — the  opposing  inner  right  and 
your  own  left  inner. 

Play  a  little  to  the  left  of  the  former. 
This  will  enable  you  to  tackle  her  at  once 
and  without  risk  of  a  foul. 

A  great  deal  of  intercepting  will  come 
your  way,  and  for  this  you  will  find  the 
right-hand  and  left-hand  cuts,  lunge  and  re- 
verse strokes  very  useful.  And  please  do 
avoid  hitting  out.  It  is  such  bad  hockey! 

Look  out  for  the  moment  when  your  left 
half  compels  outer  right  to  center. 

And  look  out  for  an  opposing  right  inner 
who  treats  a  penalty  corner  as  the  player  is 
doing  in  the  second  illustration,  fielding  it 
with  the  sole  of  her  foot  and  then  shooting. 


44  S folding's  Athletic  Library 

It  is  a  quick  and  dangerous  method.  This 
warning  I  address  to  you,  for  that  player  is 
your  special  care;  but  it  concerns  the  for- 
wards and  halves  really  more  than  you,  for 
they  are  the  ones  to  charge  out,  though  you 
must  look  out  for  the  shot  if  it  evades  them 


- 


S  paid  ing's  Athletic  Library  47 


CHAPTER  v^I 
THE  HALF-BACK  LINE 

There  is  no  place  like  half-back.  But 
perhaps  I  am  prejudiced,  for  that  was  my 
own  position,  after  a  season  or  two  as  a  roll- 
ing stone.  Once  find  your  true  position  and 
you  never  have  the  smallest  doubt  about  it. 
Conversely,  if  you  are  always  questioning 
whether  or  no  you  are  in  your  true  position 
you  may  be  sure  you  are  not.  Here  and 
there  a  player  seems  to  do  equally  well  in 
two  different  positions,  but  she  always  pre- 
fers one  of  them. 

CENTER 

The  plum  position  in  the  half-back 
line  is  center.  I  feel  I  may  write  about  cen- 
ter-half with  some  assurance,  for  I  played 
there  for  many  years. 

It  is  useless  your  thinking  of  being  a  cen- 
ter-half unless  you  have  more  than  one  per- 
son's legitimate  share  of  energy!  There 


48  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

must  be  no  limit  to  your  energy  or  staying 
powers.  As  center-half  you  are  easily  the 
hardest  worked  member  of  the  team,  busy 
whether  on  the  winning  or  losing  side,  al- 
ways in  the  thick  of  it. 

If  you  are  at  all  a  leisurely  or  lazy  person 
center-half  is  not  for  you.  To  be  success- 
ful there  you  must  revel  in  hard  work.  And 
great  quickness  is  required  of  you.  This  is 
essential.  If  you  cannot  dart  and  dodge  and 
turn  quickly  let  center-half  alone. 

Of  mental  qualities  you  need  extreme 
watchfulness.  If  you  fasten  your  eye  on  the 
ball  and  the  movements  of  the  players  with 
it,  say,  the  opposing  backs,  it  is  surprising 
how  much  of  the  ground  you  can  cover. 
Players  who  watch  like  this  often  get  a  repu- 
tation for  a  sort  of  second  sight. 

Miss  E.  G.  Johnson,  who  captained  Eng- 
land for  eight  seasons,  had  this  reputation 
for  anticipating  the  intentions  of  opponents. 
Experience  had  taught  her  where  the  ball 
was  likely  to  go  and  by  watching  she  could 
decide  where  it  would  certainly  go.  I  have 
never  seen  a  half-back  in  ladies'  hockey  like 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  49 

her  in  this  respect,  nor  in  one  other,  namely, 
her  unerring  gift  for  picking  out  the  right 
forward  to  pass  to  and  then  passing  to  her 
at  once. 

Those  two  qualities  alone  would  make  a 
great  center-half.  Ponder  this  well,  you 
who  aspire  to  be  center-halves. 

Coming  now  to  the  duties  of  center-half. 
Look  at  the  photograph  of  the  initial  bully. 
The  half  is  standing  about  a  yard  and  a 
half  behind  the  bully,  which  is  correct.  By 
standing  nearer  she  would  impede  her  own 
center-forward. 

Coaching  a  strange  team  once  I  observed 
that  the  center-half  stood  some  eight  or  ten 
yards  away  from  the  bully.  I  indicated  to 
her  her  right  place,  and  was  rather  taken 
aback  by  her  manner  of  receiving  my  well 
meant  hint.  Drawing  herself  up  she  re- 
plied, in  a  tone  of  cold  displeasure:  "I 
prefer  to  stand  where  I  am,  thank  you."  You 
will  agree  that  this  was  very  silly  and  de- 
served correction.  Well,  it  got  what  is 
deserved,  for  the  captain,  no  respecter  of 
persons,  pointedly  told  the  player  what 
everyone  thought  of  her. 


50  S pal  ding's  Athletic  Library 

In  attacks  the  center-half  supports  her 
own  center-forward,  follows  a  few  yards  be- 
hind her,  and  gives  her  the  ball  when  she  is 
unmarked.  In  defense  she  is  expected  to 
shadow  the  opposing  center-forward.  A 
good  half  who  thinks  for  herself  will  dis- 
tribute her  energies  far  more  widely  than 
that.  She  must  take  a  hand  in  helping  or 
hindering  the  inside  forwards  for  and 
against,  and  even  sometimes  pass  out  to  her 
wings.  A  wandering  center-half  is  a  bit  of 
a  bother  to  the  rest  of  the  team  so,  although 
she  often  has  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  the 
other  halves,  let  her  go  back  to  her  place 
as  quickly  as  may  be. 

In  attack  she  must  keep  up  with  the  game 
and  keep  the  forwards  supplied  with  the 
ball,  using  chiefly  the  push  pass.  Some  cap- 
tains, very  foolishly,  give  strict  orders  that 
the  halves  must  never  go  into  the  circle.  A 
center-half,  quick  at  seeing  and  seizing  op- 
portunities and  a  hard  shot,  will  often  score 
goals  from  the  edge  of  the  circle.  When 
the  forwards  have  followed  up  a  shot  of 
their  own  there  must  be  someone  on  the  edge 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  5 1 

of  the  circle  to  intercept  a  clearing  hit;  and 
who  better  than  the  center-half?  A  center- 
half  must  not  riddle  with  the  ball.  This  is 
often  mere  gallery  play.  She  must  act  at 
once  and  often  hit  the  ball  without  first 
stopping  it.  And  if  she  begins  a  movement 
let  her  go  through  with  it.  Unless  a  deter- 
mined worrier  she  will  never  make  a  good 
defensive  player. 

LEFT-HALF 

Very  few  players  choose  left-half.  It  is 
not  a  popular  place.  Why?  Answer:  Be- 
cause of  its  difficulties. 

As  a  left-half  you  are  marking  probably 
the  fastest  player  on  the  other  side — outer- 
right.  That  is  no  occasion  for  mirth.  Then 
unless  you  literally  hug  the  touch-line  you 
are  so  often  awkwardly  placed  for  tackling 
that  player.  Your  hold-by  is  just  that  "hug 
the  touch  line."  This  makes  things  easier 
for  you  by  giving  you  still  more  of  the  game 
on  your  right  and  still  less  on  your  left. 

And  remember  and  look  out  for  the  de- 
vice by  which  outer-left,  your  special  con- 


52  S  pal  ding's  Athletic  Library 

cern,  will  try  to  outwit  you.  She  will  hit  the 
ball  to  your  left  side  and  run  round  you  the 
other.  By  keeping  near  the  touch  line  you 
make  that  device  impossible.  Of  course,  you 
must  use  your  discretion  and  leave  the  touch 
line  for  intercepting  passes  or  tackling  an 
unmarked  and  dangerous  inner-right.  And 
please  do  not  retreat  before  a  forward;  go 
in  and  tackle  her  at  once,  and  if  you  miss 
have  another  try.  By  retreating  you  allow 
the  attack  to  get  nearer  goal.  In  tackling 
outer-right  from  her  left  side,  use  the  right- 
hand  cut. 

Practise  the  reverse  stroke  diligently.  In 
attack  you  are  to  feed  your  own  outer-left, 
or,  if  she  is  hemmed  in,  inner-left.  You 
must  learn  to  keep  the  ball  in  play.  A  useful 
form  of  pass  is  hitting  the  ball  ahead  and 
down  the  touch  line  for  a  fast  wing. 

The  duty  of  rolling  the  ball  in  from  touch 
on  her  side  of  the  ground  belongs  to  the  left- 
half.  What  poor  use  is  often  made  of  the 
roll-in!  What  good  use  ought  to  be  made 
made  of  it!  There  is  hardly  such  a  thing 
as  roll-in  tactics  in  club  hockey. 


S  pal  ding's  A  thletic  Library  53 

The  ball  is  slung  in,  generally  straight 
down  the  line,  without  any  look  round  to  see 
what  players  are  unmarked.  First  of  all, 
the  half-back  should  have  an  understanding 
with  her  inner  and  outer  left,  her  left-back 
and  center-forward  and  half.  With  five 
players  to  whom  she  may  roll  in  the  ball, 
she  has  much  need  for  vigilance  and  scope 
for  ingenuity.  One  effective  device  is  for 
her  to  roll  the  ball  to  inner-left,  who  will 
tap  it  back  to  her,  and  she  will  then  hit  it 
down  the  line  to  outer-left,  who  has  run  on. 
There  are  variants  of  this  which  she  can 
think  out  with  the  other  players. 

A  roll-in  should  be  almost  as  useful  as  a 
free  hit,  and  would  be  if  players  thought  of 
it  in  that  light. 

To  the  left-half,  too,  will  often  fall  the 
duty  of  taking  a  free  hit.  Here,  again,  hurry 
and  want  of  thought  often  spoil  what  should 
be  a  real  advantage.  Hitting  in  a  hurry 
the  half  tops  the  ball  and  sends  it  a  few 
yards.  The  fact  is  that  free  hits  are  so  com- 
mon that  players  underrate  their  value. 

If  the  hockey  were  better  free  hits  would 


54  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

be  fewer,  and  then  players  would   realize 
the  value  of  the  latter. 

RIGHT-HALF 

In  many  respects  the  right  half-back  is 
the  right-back  over  again.  Her  duties,  too, 
are  similar  to  the  left-half's.  But,  unlike 
the  latter,  she  must  not  hug  the  touchline. 
If  she  did  she  would  have  all  the  game  on 
her  left. 

Her  duty  in  defense  is  to  mark  the  op- 
posing outer-left,  an  easier  player  to  deal 
with  than  outer-right,  as  a  comparison  of  the 
two  positions  shows.  Outer-left  has  to  turn 
before  she  can  center,  and  in  doing  so  must 
check  her  speed.  This  gives  the  right-half 
her  chance.  And  even  in  passing  to  her  in- 
ner, outer-left  is  necessarily  less  quick  than 
outer-right.  So  in  these  respects  right-half 
is  the  easier  position.  And  it  is,  too,  much 
easier  for  her  to  keep  the  ball  in  play.  She 
has  no  excuse  for  hitting  out. 

In  attack  she  must  feed  outer-right,  and 
not  forget  inner-right.  There  must  be  no 
one  between  her  and  these  two  forwards. 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  55 

If  an  opposing  half  gets  there  she  must  draw 
that  player  in  such  a  way  that  she  can  get 
the  ball  to  one  of  the  forwards. 

In  defense  she  must  face  the  opposing 
wing  forward,  but  hold  herself  ready  to  run 
in  and  intercept  passes  for  that  player. 

Outer-lefts  seem  to  play  a  more  machine- 
like  game  than  any  other  forwards.  They 
run  down  to  a  certain  point,  stop,  or  nearly 
so,  turn  squarely  towards  goal  and  center. 
If  the  half  hampers  them  they  start  to  drib- 
ble towards  their  own  goal  or  somehow  cir- 
cumvent the  former. 

It  is  all  very  obvious  and  the  right-half 
knows  what  to  expect.  When  chasing  the 
wing  let  her  guard  against  overruning  that 
player  when  she  pulls  up  for  her  center. 

A  right-half  who  has  been  left  behind  by 
a  fast  wing  may  often  be  in  time  to  intercept 
the  center  by  cutting  across  to  the  edge  of  the 
circle.  A  right-half  who  cannot  hit  the  ball 
without  first  stopping  it  is  not  much  of  a 
player.  The  need  for  hitting  the  ball  in  mo- 
tion is  always  coming  her  way.  The  push 
pass  to  the  right  and  the  left-hand  lunge  are 
essential  to  the  right-half. 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  57 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  FORWARD  LINE 

In  Great  Britain  for  some  years  before 
1914  the  short-passing  game  had  been  well 
established  in  ladies'  hockey.  But  I  can  re- 
member the  time  when  forward  play  was 
very  different,  when  long  passing  and  "hit- 
and-rush"  were  the  order.  When  grounds 
are  rough  or  muddy  then  hitting  and  rush- 
ing will  often  pay  better,  but  such  conditions 
ought  to  be  very  abnormal.  This  is  really 
a  case  of  tactics.  Forward  play  must  be 
taught  and  learned  as  for  normal  conditions. 
Forwards  must  set  themselves  to  learn  the 
short-passing  game,  without  which  real 
combination  is  impossible. 

Let  me  begin  by  pointing  out  that  when 
the  center-forward  has  the  ball  the  two  in- 
ners  must  be  in  advance  of  her  and  the  two 
outers  must  be  in  advance  of  the  two  inners. 
This  is  the  correct  formation  of  the  forward 


58  Spalding's  Athletic  library 

line  in  attack.  Exigencies  of  the  game  often 
vary  this,  but  it  is  the  true  model  and  a  good 
hold-by  for  the  young  player. 

In  giving  passes,  hit  them  in  front  of  the 
player  for  whom  intended,  far  enough  ahead 
for  her  to  take  them  at  top  speed.  No  team 
can  be  first-class  unless  they  observe  this. 
Without  it  dash  is  really  impossible. 

Briefly,  the  essential  qualifications  are: 
The  two  wings  must  be  fast  and  able  to  cen- 
ter hard;  inner-right  must  be  a  good  shot, 
dashing  and  plucky;  inner-left  must  be  a 
good  dribbler,  able  to  pass  easily  from  left 
to  right  and  field  well  with  her  stick;  center, 
too,  must  be  a  good  dribbler,  a  straight  run- 
ner, quick  and  unselfish  with  her  stick  and  a 
good  shot.  If  you  are  not  to  be  a  back  or  a 
half-back,  you  are  cut  out  for  one  of  these 
positions.  Which?  It  should  not  be  very 
hard  to  decide.  More  players,  I  suppose, 
aspire  to  be  a  center  than  anything  else.  It 
is  the  position  of  supreme  importance,  like 
the  stroke  of  the  Varsity  crew.  But  unless 
you  have  the  qualifications  just  enumerated 
it  is  mere  conceit  setting  your  cap  at  this 
position  of  distinction. 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  59 

OUTER-RIGHT 

The  easiest  position  in  the  forward  line 
is  outer-right.  So  let  me  take  it  first.  Re- 
member that  as  the  ground  is  60  yards  wide 
each  of  the  forwards  has,  theoretically,  a 
track  down  the  field  of  12  yards  wide  in 
which  to  work.  Accordingly  outer-right's 
place  is,  technically,  some  5  yards  or  6  yards 
from  the  touch-line.  In  actual  practise  it  is 
half  the  distance.  The  advantage  of  playing 
near  the  touch-line  is  that  it  draws  the  op- 
posing half-backs  away  from  the  right  in- 
ner ;  the  disadvantage,  that  it  gives  less  scope 
for  dribbling  round  the  half. 

To  defeat  the  opposing  half  or  back,  as 
the  case  may  be,  outer-right  merely  has  to 
hit  the  ball  smartly  to  the  right  of  that 
player  and  run  round  her  on  the  other  side. 

This  device  is  now  taught  at  many 
schools,  and  opponents  expect  it  and  are 
ready  to  frustrate  it. 

There  are  two  alternatives.  You  can 
shape  as  if  you  meant  to  hit  the  ball  to  the 
right,  deceive  your  opponent  into  thinking 
that,  and  then  quickly  dribble  it  to  the  left; 


60  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

or  you  can  shape  to  hit  it  to  the  right,  draw 
your  opponent  towards  the  touch-line,  and 
then  pass  in  to  your  partner.  The  device 
(of  hitting  to  the  right)  is  very  effectively 
used  when  an  opponent  charges  down  on 
you.  Try  it  and  see! 

A  famous  player  in  men's  hockey,  who 
excelled  in  this  particular,  practised  it  as 
follows: 

He  would  run  down  with  the  ball  and  as 
he  neared  the  left-back,  who  had  come 
across  to  stop  him,  he  would  edge  away  a 
little  to  the  left,  while  allowing  the  ball  to 
be  well  out  on  his  right  and  just  within  reach 
of  the  left-hand  lunge.  Thus  he  would  be 
to  the  left  of  his  opponent  and  the  ball  to 
the  right  of  that  player.  At  the  right  mo- 
ment he  would  give  a  quick  lunge  at  the 
ball,  dart  round  his  opponent  and  gather 
the  ball  on  the  other  side  without  having 
to  any  extent  checked  his  speed. 

To  imitate  this  effectively  you  must  leave 
enough  room  between  yourself  and  the 
touch-line.  Do  not  hit  the  ball  too  fine,  that 
is,  too  straight,  or  your  opponent  will  be  able 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  61 

to  stop  it  with  her  foot.  Also  avoid  hanging 
on  to  the  ball  too  long.  Remember  the  im- 
portance of  keeping  the  defense  on  your  left 
so  long  as  you  have  the  ball.  They  cannot 
tackle  very  effectively  from  that  side,  so  you 
have  them  at  a  disadvantage.  Make  the 
most  of  it.  This  makes  your  position  easy; 
so  does  the  fact  that  your  pass  in  and  your 
centers  are  natural  hits  from  right  to  left. 

If  you  are  opposed  by  a  left-half  who 
drifts  to  the  center,  make  the  most  of  this, 
too,  by  keeping  well  out  on  the  wing. 

The  usual  course  for  outer-right  is  to  run 
down  to  a  point  near  the  touch-line  opposite 
the  circle  and  then  center  in  at  right-angles 
to  the  former  and  as  hard  as  she  can  with- 
out giving  "sticks."  To  vary  this  she  should 
make  an  occasional  dash  for  the  circle.  This 
may  take  her  opponents  by  surprise  or  throw 
them  into  confusion.  And  when  you  do  get 
to  the  circle,  shoot  at  once  and  hard. 

Combine  with  your  inner  and  place  your- 
self where  she  can  get  her  passes  to  you. 

You  will  take  corners  and  penalty  corners 
unless  for  some  special  reason  the  captain 


62  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

deputes  it  to  the  right  half.  Of  course, 
when  the  corner  is  from  the  left  you  come 
up  to  the  edge  of  the  circle. 

It  is  necessary  to  remind  young  players 
that  if,  in  taking  a  corner  hit,  they  miss  the 
ball  altogether  they  may  take  it  again.  No 
penalty  is  attached  to  this,  as  at  golf.  If, 
however,  the  ball  is  so  much  as  touched,  a 
second  hit  before  another  player  touches  it 
incurs  a  free  hit. 

Outer-rights  do  not  do  enough  defensive 
work.  When  their  backs  are  specially  hard 
pressed  they  might  now  and  then  take  a 
hand,  while  they  should  always  worry  the 
half-back  who  robs  them  of  the  ball. 

OUTER-LEFT 

Outer-left  is  much  more  difficult.  The 
player  who  fills  it  must  keep  the  ball  in 
play  and  make  an  awkward  turn  to  the  right 
before  she  can  center  at  the  right  pace. 

The  regulation  course  is  to  run  down  till 
opposite  the  circle  and  then  center.  A  good 
alternative  is,  after  running  down  to  stop 
dead  and  dribble  round  the  opposing  back 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  63 

or  half,  with  a  view  either  to  making  a  dash 
for  the  circle  or  a  carefully  placed  center. 
So  few  outer-lefts  can  pass  in  to  the  center 
while  going  at  top  speed.  Without  this  abil- 
ity it  is  impossible  to  be  first-class.  In  ef- 
fecting this  pass  in,  the  body  makes  a  half 
right  turn  from  the  hips.  The  actual  hit 
is  a  forearm  and  wrist  shot.  This  pass-in 
must  take  place  not  later  than  the  25  yard 
line.  It  must  not  be  confused  with  the  ordi- 
nary center,  for  which  the  player  turns 
square  to  the  circle  with  her  back  to  the 
touch-line.  The  object  of  centering  at  the 
point  stated  is  that  the  inside  forwards  may 
take  the  pass  at  top  speed. 

Play  near  the  touch-line,  never  more  than 
5  yards  away.  You  must  be  expert  at  the 
reverse  stroke,  but  use  it  only  when  you  can- 
not make  the  ordinary  hit  or  push-pass  from 
left  to  right.  One  danger  to  guard  against 
is  circling  on  the  ball  and  obstruction. 

In  one  respect  outer-left  has  the  pull  of 
outer-right.  She  gets  more  passes,  because 
players  naturally  hit  to  the  left. 

Inner-right  and  inner-left  may  be  taken 
together.  In  mid-field  they  play  nearer  their 


64  S/>alding's  Athletic  Library 

wings  than  their  center.  As  the  attack  nears 
the  circle  they  close  in.  Their  chief  busi- 
ness is  to  feed  their  wings,  but  as  the  ob- 
ject of  attack  is  to  get  the  ball  into  the  circle 
and  shoot  they  will  not  be  so  silly  as  to  pass 
out  to  their  wings  when  the  circle  is  almost 
reached.  Yet  this  is  a  very  common  mistake, 
which  arises  from  want  of  thought. 

After  the  "25"  is  passed  they  should  be 
more  concerned  with  their  center.  This  is 
when  and  where  combination  is  most 
severely  tested. 

Inner-right  has  more  opportunities  of 
shooting  than  anyone.  She  must  shoot  at 
once  and  follow  up  her  shot,  as  well  as  the 
shots  of  her  center  and  of  inner-left.  It  is 
useless  for  inner-left  to  shoot  if  her  shot  is 
certain  to  go  to  the  left  of  the  goal.  She 
must  manoeuver  herself  into  a  better  posi- 
tion or  pass  back  to  her  center  on  the  edge 
of  the  circle. 

Early  in  this  lesson  I  observed  that  the 
forward  line  in  attack  should  be  semi-cir- 
cular. Thus  the  center-forward  is  behind 
the  other  four.  She  reaps  three  advantages 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  65 

from  this :  she  will  see  clearly  what  her  for- 
ward line  is  doing;  she  will  never  be  off- 
side; she  will  take  her  passes  at  top  speed.  I 
want,  however,  to  insist  that  this  is  not  a 
hard-and-fast  formation.  It  may  be  re- 
garded merely  as  a  good  formula. 

Opening  up  the  game  is  center-forward's 
special  work.  And  what  is  this?  In  a  word, 
drawing  the  defense  on  to  herself  so  that  an- 
other forward  is  unmarked  and  then  plac- 
ing herself  where  a  return  pass  can  reach 
her.  She  must  compel  both  attack  and  de- 
fense to  spread  out  after  a  center  bully. 

One  of  the  worst  features  of  ladies' 
hockey  is  a  tendency  to  bunch  in  the  center 
of  the  field,  or  wherever  the  ball  is.  The 
center-forward  must  do  all  she  can  to  coun- 
teract this,  and  one  way  is  by  keeping  with- 
in the  12  yards  nominally  allotted  to  her. 
She  should,  as  far  as  possible,  make  a  bee 
line  for  the  goal.  All  the  best  centers  go  very 
straight,  with  a  tendency  to  bear  to  the  right 
so  as  to  have  the  defense  on  their  left  side. 

Finally,  all  three  inside  forwards  should 
lend  a  hand  in  defense  when  their  goal  is 
being  bombarded. 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  67 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE   TEAM   AND    ITS   TACTICS 

Equipped  with  strokes,  understanding  the 
duties  of  the  several  positions,  and  conver- 
sant with  the  rules,  the  team  needs  a  leader, 
a  captain.  A  captain  must  lead,  and  the 
better  the  captain  the  better  the  team. 
Choose  your  captain  carefully.  The  best 
player  does  not  necessarily  make  a  good 
captain.  Besides  skill,  knowledge  of  the 
game,  and  experience,  a  captain  must  have 
personality;  her  word  must  carry  weight; 
her  presence  on  the  field  must  be  of  the 
kind  that  is  felt  and  that  inspires  those  un- 
der her  to  outdo  their  best;  her  blame  must 
be  dreaded;  her  praise  must  be  a  coveted 
prize.  A  weak  captain,  though  a  strong 
player,  is  a  source  of  weakness  to  a  team. 
Countless  matches  are  lost  through  bad  cap- 
taincy. How?  Let  me  give  one  instance. 
A  goal  is  badly  wanted  to  win  or  save  a 


68  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

match.  A  change  of  tactics,  a  temporary 
shuffling  in  the  forward  line,  an  order  to 
the  wings  to  make  a  dash  for  the  circle  in- 
stead of  centering,  carte  blanche  to  the  cen- 
ter-half to  shoot  whenever  she  gets  a  chance, 
and  a  wholesale  appeal  to  the  team  to  make 
a  special  effort  will  have  the  desired  effect. 
A  diffident  captain,  a  captain  without  force 
of  character,  initiative  or  imagination,  either 
does  not  think  of,  or  else  fails  to  enforce, 
any  of  these  things.  That  is  bad  captaincy 
of  a  negative  kind. 

There  is,  too,  bad  captaincy  of  a  positive 
kind,  plenty  of  it.  One  of  the  commonest 
mistakes  captains  make  is,  when  they  win 
the  toss,  to  choose  the  worse  of  the  two  ends. 
They  elect  to  play  the  first  half  against  the 
wind,  up  the  hill,  or  facing  the  driving  rain. 
Why?  Well,  they  argue  that  it  is  better  to 
have  the  conditions  in  your  favor  in  the  sec- 
ond half,  when  you  are  tired.  All  wrong! 
Take  the  gifts  the  gods  offer  now!  The  wind 
may  drop,  may  even  shift,  the  rain  cease. 

Start  with  the  maximum  of  advantages 
and  with  your  maximum  effort.  Score  goals 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  69 

at  the  beginning  of  a  match.  Their  moral 
effect  on  you  and  your  opponents  is  greater 
than  you  know.  A  lead  of  two  goals  means 
so  much  more  confidence  to  you  and  so 
much  less  to  your  opponents. 

Remember  that  it  is  far  harder  to  score 
goals  than  it  is  to  prevent  the  other  side 
scoring  them. 

No  team  that  crosses  over,  say  3  love, 
should  ever  be  beaten — if  they  play  for 
"keeps."  I  am  not  going  to  advocate  this 
kind  of  hockey,  but  it  is  certain  that  if  all 
eleven  members  of  a  team  with  this  lead  con- 
centrated on  defense,  they  could  not  be 
beaten. 

The  sporting  game  to  play  is,  of  course, 
to  strain  every  nerve  to  increase  that  lead, 
and  in  doing  this  you  are  really  concentrat- 
ing on  defense,  for  it  is  a  truism  that  "at- 
tack" is  the  best  "defense." 

I  saw  a  "county"  team  beaten  chiefly,  I 
am  sure,  because  they  chose  the  less  heroic 
part  of  staying  at  home  and  defending, 
backs  and  halves  playing  so  far  behind  their 
forwards  in  attack  that  the  latter  could  never 


70  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

keep  up  any  pressure.  They  had  a  lead  at 
half-time,  but  were  beaten  in  the  end,  as  a 
result,  to  my  mind,  of  these  tactics.  Whether 
they  were  so  or  not,  how  much  more  satis- 
factory to  have  lost  trying  to  win! 

An  early  lead  will  stiffen  the  defense  and 
give  the  attack  courage  to  be  more  enter- 
prising. 

So  always  choose  the  better  end,  if  you 
win  the  toss. 

Then,  always  go  off  with  a  dash.  Try  to 
rush  your  opponents  at  the  start. 

A  good  captain  knows  that  the  first  few 
minutes  after  half-time  are  dangerous  by 
reason  of  the  cooling  down  and  easing  off 
caused  by  the  five  minutes  interval.  It  is 
difficult  to  re-start  where  you  left  off — at 
concert  pitch.  A  captain  should  never  fail 
to  remind  her  team  of  this  at  half-time,  and 
exhort  them  to  "brace"  themselves  on  re- 
suming. 

To  revert  one  moment  to  the  choice  of  a 
captain.  The  ideal  position  for  a  captain 
is  center-half,  next  to  that  is  center-forward. 
The  qualities  which  go  to  make  a  good  cen- 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  71 

ter-half  or  center-forward  are  just  the  quali- 
ties one  expects  to  find  in  a  good  captain. 

To  my  mind  too  little  is  made  of  choosing 
a  captain.  An  unpopular  captain,  whom 
circumstances  rather  than  choice  have  thrust 
upon  a  team,  is  a  dreadful  infliction.  I  have 
seen  good  teams  spoiled  by  an  unsuitable 
captain,  just  as  I  have  seen  mediocre  teams 
surpass  themselves  under  an  inspiring 
leader. 

Then,  a  team  must  have  esprit  de  corps. 
This,  quite  simply  and  at  its  best,  means  that 
the  whole  team  is  of  one  mind  about  win- 
ning, intensely  desiring  that,  and  that  every 
member  plays  for  the  team,  nor  for  her  own 
hand. 

Tactics  are  not  tangible  things  easily  put 
on  paper,  but  I  have  managed  to  suggest  a 
variety  of  tactics  in  the  foregoing,  and  will 
here  add  a  few  more. 

The  center-half  gets  the  ball  with  a  clear 
field  in  front  of  her.  If  she  dribbles  down 
and  drives  her  forwards  in  front  of  her  she 
may  put  them  offside  or  else  "tie"  them  up. 
If,  however,  the  forwards  will  spread  out, 


72  Spalding's  Athletic  library 

drawing  the  defense  with  them  and  leaving 
an  open  space  down  the  middle,  center-half 
has  a  good  chance  of  breaking  through  and 
scoring.  This  is  team  combination  and 
team  tactics  of  a  high  order,  which  is  made 
impossible  unless  all  the  players  have 
imagination. 

A  proper  variation  of  the  same  tactics 
might  give  either  of  the  wing  halves  a  simi- 
lar chance. 

Changing  places,  wing  forward  with  in- 
side, the  latter  with  center,  requires  a  mu- 
tual understanding.  How  often  does  one 
see  this  done?  or  a  half  dropping  back  into 
the  place  of  a  back  who  has  gone  up-field, 
temporarily,  to  finish  a  movement  she  has 
begun?  General  combination  in  a  team  is 
rare.  Forwards  seldom  pass  to  half-backs 
or  the  latter  to  backs;  and  yet  it  is  often  the 
only  right  thing  to  do. 

Remember  this,  too,  for  roll-in  tactics  and 
free  hits. 

What  should  a  captain  do  when  the  team 
is  a  player  short?  Generally  speaking,  play 
four  forwards.  Four  forwards  instead  of 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  73 

five  are  often  very  upsetting  to  the  opposing 
defense.  A  good  and  resourceful  half  gets 
plenty  of  opportunities  for  joining  the  for- 
ward line  and  bringing  the  number  up  to 
five.  If  the  opposing  team  is  considerably 
the  weaker  side  she  may  sacrifice  the  goal- 
keeper or  one  of  the  backs. 

Tactics  should  be  intelligently  discussed 
before  a  match.  This  lesson  cannot  do  more 
than  just  touch  on  the  fringe  of  a  subject 
which  is  as  exhaustless  as  the  ingenuity  of 
players. 


QL. 


LH. 


,QR. 


R.H. 


L.B. 


R.B. 


„   o 

51 


H    i1' 


j.   3 

O   'J 


S folding's  Athletic  Library  75 


CHAPTER  IX 
TO  CURE  YOUR  FAULTS 

If  the  foregoing  lessons  have  been  prop- 
erly digested  there  would  be  little  need  for 
the  present  one.  But  that  is  too  much  to 
expect.  So  I  shall  attempt  to  bring  to- 
gether in  this  lesson  the  faults  to  which 
players  are  most  prone,  and,  in  addition,  the 
illegalities  which  do  so  much  to  spoil  the 
game.  With  this  lesson  in  mind,  I  have 
specially  noticed  the  worst  and  commonest 
faults  and  illegalities. 

After  a  "county"  match  one  day,  in  which 
the  hockey  was  crude  and  unsatisfactory,  an 
old  International  player  remarked  to  me: 
"Isn't  it  dreadful?"  Remembering  how 
these  counties  used  to  play,  I  had  to  agree 
that  it  was,  tapping  my  forehead  at  the 
same  time  to  imply  the  reason — namely, 
want  of  head,  want  of  thought. 

Yes ;  want  of  thought  is  the  cause  of  much 
of  the  bad  play,  faults  and  illegalities.  And 


76  S folding's  Athletic  Library 

a  second  cause  is  like  unto  it — ignorance  of 
the  rules.  Neither  of  them  is  ineradicable. 

It  is  a  great  privilege  to  be  well  coached, 
but  good  coaching  can  never  take  the  place 
of  individual  thinking.  Here  is  a  good 
maxim  for  you :  "Think  before  you  hit." 

Now  I  will  tell  you  what  I  observed  at 
that  county  match,  not  once,  but  time  and 
again.  After  robbing  an  opponent  of  the 
ball  the  player,  a  half-back,  say,  would  hur- 
riedly hit  it  in  the  direction  of  the  opposite 
goal,  that  is,  into  the  middle  of  the  ground. 
By  chance  the  ball  might  reach  a  friend; 
much  more  often  it  went  straight  to  a  foe. 
To  me,  looking  on,  three  things  were  clear. 
There  was  no  need  for  acting  hurriedly,  for 
no  opponent  was  worrying  her ;  there  was  an 
absolutely  unmarked  forward  on  the  left, 
the  forward  for  a  pass;  there  were  a  couple 
of  opponents  in  the  middle  between  the  half- 
back and  her  own  forwards  expecting  the 
ball  to  come  that  way  and  ready  to  inter- 
cept it.  If  these  things  were  so  obvious  to 
an  onlooker,  why  were  they  obscured  from 


S  pal  ding's  Athletic  Library  77 

the  player  herself?  Because  she  used  neither 
her  wits  nor  her  eyes. 

After  getting  possession  of  the  ball  and 
clear  of  any  opposition  she  ought  to  have 
looked  up  to  see  where  the  unmarked  for- 
ward was,  for  there  generally  is  one.  If 
she  could  not  see  one,  that  would  probably 
mean  that  she  herself  was  unmarked.  That 
being  so,  the  right  policy  was  for  her  to 
dribble  on  until  she  had  drawn  one  of  the 
defense  on  to  herself.  Then,  and  not  be- 
fore, was  the  time  for  a  pass. 

This  is,  I  am  sure,  the  commonest  fault 
in  ladies'  hockey — hitting  the  ball  to  an 
opponent. 

And  then  I  observed  the  painful  monot- 
ony with  which  players  kept  doing  the  same 
thing,  the  obvious  thing.  Thus  outside-left 
would  run  down  to  a  certain  point,  stop, 
draw  the  ball  back  to  her  with  reversed 
stick,  and  center.  The  opposing  backs  soon 
became  aware  of  her  tactics  and  were  there 
every  time  to  intercept  the  ball.  She  shaped 
so  obviously  to  do  a  certain  thing,  that,  un- 


78  Spalding's  .-Itlilctic  Library 

less  she  did  something  else,  which  she  never 
did,  opponents  could  not  fail  to  be  prepared 
for  it. 

Now  one  of  the  arts  of  hockey  is  deception 
—springing  a  surprise  on  your  opponents. 
Shape  to  do  one  thing,  and  actually  do  an- 
other. Keep  your  opponents  ever  in  doubt 
as  to  what  you  will  do  next. 

Wing  forwards  are  always  more  liable  to 
get  into  a  rut  than  anyone  else.  Do  try 
to  vary  your  procedure. 

A  common  remark  of  touch-line  critics 
and  selection  committees  is  that  "the  mark- 
ing was  bad."  This  is,  no  doubt,  one  of  the 
worst  collective  faults  a  team  can  have. 

In  the  county  match  referred  to  it  was  all 
too  evident. 

Remember,  that  even  one  player  who  neg- 
lects to  mark  can  upset  the  whole  team. 

Other  faults  I  noted  were  the  careless, 
hurried  way  free  hits  were  taken;  the  per- 
fectly suicidal  way  forwards  began  to  pass 
on  reaching  the  circle;  the  reprehensible 
habit  of  hitting  out  of  play  when  pressed. 


S  folding's  Athletic  Library  79 

Then  I  noted  the  position  of  the  backs 
in  attack.  In  one  team  the  two  backs  were 
standing  10  yards  short  of  the  half-way  line 
when  their  own  forwards  were  in  the  cir- 
cle! They  should  have  been  at  least  20 
yards  further  up  the  field. 

The  forwards  let  the  ball  get  too  far 
ahead  of  them,  passed  for  the  sake  of  pass- 
ing, delayed  their  shots  till  hampered  by  op- 
ponents. One  wing  player  often  got  down 
to  the  circle,  but  always  made  a  mess  of  the 
shooting,  because  she  had  such  a  bad  style 
of  hitting,  with  6  inches  of  daylight  between 
her  two  hands.  It  was  practically  one- 
handed  shooting. 

But  I  do  not  wish  to  fasten  any  more 
faults  on  to  one  poor  county  match,  so  will 
here  break  away  and  be  more  general. 

Much  bad  fielding  is  due  to  advancing  the 
stick  to  meet  the  ball  instead  of  drawing  it 
in.  In  catching  the  ball  at  lacrosse  or  cricket 
the  crosse  and  the  hands  "give"  as  the  ball 
meets  them.  Otherwise,  the  ball  would 
jump  out.  So  it  is  in  fielding  at  hockey. 
Unless  there  is  this  "give,"  this  in-drawing 


80  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

of  the  stick,  with,  perhaps,  a  little  relaxing 
of  the  grip,  the  ball  will  rebound  or  glance 
off  the  stick  out  of  reach.  Then  it  is  easier 
to  field  with  the  stick  upright.  A  very  safe 
method  of  fielding  is  to  lay  the  stick  up  the 
inside  of  ankle  and  knee  with  the  foot 
turned  out. 

I  noticed  a  player  trying  to  field  the  other 
day  by  bringing  her  stick  down  hatchet-wise 
as  the  ball  passed.  Needless  to  say,  she  in- 
tercepted it  this  way  about  once  in  ten.  For 
accurate  fielding  the  stick  must  meet  the 
ball  down  the  line  of  its  flight. 

Another  player  consulted  me  about  her 
very  unsatisfactory  reverse  stroke,  which 
had  neither  pace  nor  accuracy.  After  watch- 
ing her  play  it  a  few  times  I  saw  at  once 
what  was  wrong.  First  of  all  she  was  play- 
ing the  ball  too  far  in  front  of  her  and  so 
using  only  the  point  of  the  stick. 

It  must  be  obvious  to  anyone  who  reflects 
for  a  moment  that  the  nearer  you  are  to  the 
ball  the  more  upright  the  stick  will  be,  and 
the  more  upright  the  stick  the  more  blade 
will  you  be  able  to  present  to  the  ball,  and, 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  81 

therefore,  the  more  easily  will  you  hit  it 
and  the  more  power  will  you  get  into  the 
shot. 

If  the  ball  is  hit  when  2  inches  or  3  inches 
in  front  of  the  right  toe  the  stick  will  be  at 
almost  the  same  angle  as  for  an  ordinary 
hit.  Test  this  for  yourself  and  see. 

Her  second  fault  was  the  way  she  held  the 
stick.  After  reversing  the  stick  she  twisted 
her  right  hand  round  it  from  right  to  left 
till  it  was  uncomfortable  to  twist  it  any  fur- 
ther. The  result,  a  very  awkward  hit,  in- 
stead of  the  flick  which  a  reverse  stroke 
should  be. 

Now  let  me  explain  how  the  stick  should 
be  held  for  the  reverse  stroke.  The  hands 
should  be  in  exactly  the  same  position  as 
they  would  be  if  the  stick  were  not  reversed. 

Test  this  as  follows:  Take  up  the  stick 
for  an  ordinary  drive  and  observe  the  posi- 
tion of  your  hands;  reverse  the  stick  and 
grip  it  in  the  ordinary  way.  That  is,  the 
grip  for  the  reverse  stroke.  I  have  seen 
players  move  the  left  hand  below  the  right, 
but  that  takes  time  and  is  right  only  in  the 


82  Spaldiiig's  Athletic  Library 

case  of  a  left-handed  or  ambidextrous 
player. 

I  am  more  convinced  than  ever  that  one 
of  the  very  worst  faults  in  ladies'  hockey, 
one  that  does  more  harm  than  any  other, 
cramping  the  game,  doing  physical  harm  to 
the  player,  and  preventing  her  full  enjoy- 
ment of  hockey,  is  the  use  of  a  too  heavy 
stick. 

It  is  the  easiest  fault  of  all  to  cure,  and 
yet  the  most  difficult.  Let  me  explain  this 
seeming  paradox.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to 
buy  a  lighter  stick,  but  a  most  difficult  one 
to  convince  players  of  the  need  to  do  so. 
Players  are  most  obstinate  about  this.  They 
will  not  believe  that  they  would  do  better 
with  a  20  ounce  stick  than  with  the  22  ounce 
they  have  always  used. 

A  great  deal  of  the  bad,  slow,  faulty 
shooting  is  due  to  heavy  sticks.  The  maxi- 
mum limit  for  any  forward  should  be  20 
ounces,  and  that  is  probably  too  heavy. 

Coming  to  illegalities,  the  chief  and  worst 
are:  turning  on  the  ball;  tackling  an  oppo- 
nent on  her  left  so  as  to  obstruct  her; 
offside. 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  83 

Ignorance  of  the  rules  and  lax  umpiring 
are  the  causes. 

Let  me  briefly  explain  "turning  on  the 
ball."  When  two  players  are  facing  one 
another  each  with  her  back  towards  her  own 
goal,  and  with  the  ball  between  them,  and 
one  of  them  then  turns  so  as  to  present  her 
back  to  her  opponent  and  be  between  the 
latter  and  the  ball,  that  is  "turning  on  the 
ball,"  in  a  word,  obstruction.  It  is  equally 
obstruction  to  put  leg  or  foot  between  op- 
ponent and  ball. 

Tackling  on  the  left  is  an  illegality  when 
the  tackling  player  touches  her  opponent 
before  she  touches  the  ball. 

As  to  off-side,  remember  this,  you  cannot 
possibly  get  off-side  if  you  were  on-side 
when  the  ball  was  last  hit.  Equally  you 
cannot  get  on-side  if  you  were  off-side  when 
the  ball  was  last  hit.  Nothing  can  ever 
justify  a  player  in  hanging  off-side.  It  is 
the  worst  breach  of  the  rules  there  is,  for, 
if  undetected,  it  confers  the  greatest  ad- 
vantage. 

My  final  word  of  advice  is:  Study  the 
rules. 


84  Spalding  's  A thletic  Library 


The  following  chapter,  "A  Plan  for  the  Organization  of 
Hockey,"  has  been  written  by  Miss  Marie  L.  Cams,  In- 
structor in  the  Physical  Education  Department  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin.  Miss  Cams,  who  is  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  Department  of  Hygiene  of  Wellesley  College, 
has  recently  been  coaching  hockey  at  the  University  of 
Wisconsin  and  the  plan  outlined  in  her  chapter  repre- 
sents the  scheme  which  has  evolved  through  many 
years  of  experimentation  with  the  hockey  problem  in  this 
University,  where  the  greatest  effort  has  been  made  to 
give  a  large  number  of  girls  the  most  adequate  instruc- 
tion and  the  best  opportunity  for  team  play  which  is 
possible  in  a  limited  space  of  time. — PUBLISHERS. 


A  PLAN  FOR  THE  ORGANIZATION 
OF  HOCKEY 

BY  MARIE  L.  CARNS 

The  plan  of  organization  which  is  out- 
lined here  is  particularly  applicable  to  col- 
lege work,  but  it  may  furnish  suggestions 
which  will  be  useful  for  hockey  in  second- 
ary schools,  clubs  and  other  organizations. 
In  order  to  make  this  plan  as  clear  as  pos- 
sible, a  concrete  example  will  be  given. 

Suppose  there  are  350  girls  enrolled  in 
hockey,  150  of  whom  are  Freshmen.  The 
majority  of  the  Freshmen  have  never  known 
anything  of  the  game  before.  The  hockey 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  85 

season  lasts  seven  weeks.  The  first  three 
weeks  are  spent  in  practise,  each  girl  re- 
porting three  times  a  week,  and,  so  far  as 
possible,  in  her  own  class  section.  It  will 
be  necessary  to  have  about  three  sections  to 
accommodate  the  Freshmen,  two  to  accom- 
modate the  Sophomores,  and  one  for  each 
the  Juniors  and  Seniors.  In  this  case,  I  am 
assuming  two  hockey  fields,  and  additional 
space  for  practising  strokes,  so  that  about 
sixty  may  be  enrolled  to  each  station.  Of 
course,  if  the  time  may  be  arranged,  it  will 
be  preferable  to  have  more  sections  with 
fewer  girls  in  each  section. 

EXPLANATION  OF  FUNDAMENTALS 
Those  who  do  not  know  hockey  should 
have  the  fundamentals  of  the  game  ex- 
plained to  them  before  they  are  put  on  the 
field.  This  explanation  may  be  advantage- 
ously supplemented  by  a  demonstration  on 
a  cork  board  representing  a  hockey  field. 
On  this  board  glass  thumb  tacks,  painted 
red  and  green  to  represent  the  two  teams,  arc 
placed  in  such  a  way  as  to  illustrate  differ- 


86  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

ent  formations.  Each  student  may  be  given 
a  mimeographed  sheet  on  which  are  listed 
the  most  important  rules,  as  for  example,  an 
explanation  of  "sticks,"  "free  hit,"  "roll  in," 
"corner,"  etc.  Each  one  should  also  be  urged 
to  buy  Spalding  rules,  but  we  find  that  many 
times  girls  read  these  sheets  when  they 
would  not  make  the  effort  to  buy  a  rule 
book.  Also,  on  rainy  days,  the  indoor  period 
may  be  spent  on  a  discussion  of  the  play  in 
the  various  positions  and  an  opportunity 
given  for  questions.  With  the  Freshmen  a 
short  written  "quiz"  on  rules  may  also  be 
given,  so  that  they  will  realize  that  it  is  im- 
portant that  they  be  "up"  on  them. 

Next  they  are  given  practise  in  elemental 
strokes.  With  a  season  which  lasts  only 
seven  weeks  it  seems  impossible  to  spend 
more  than  two  periods  on  this  preliminary 
work,  but  of  course  it  would  be  desirable  to 
have  a  great  deal  more  of  it  and  this  should 
certainly  be  done  if  time  permits.  They 
now  play  practise  games  and  in  these  games 
the  players  wear  colored  streamers.  For  ex- 
ample, the  colors  may  be  green  and  yellow 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  87 

for  the  two  different  teams.  The  forward 
line  wears  a  dark  shade  and  the  half  back 
line  a  light  shade.  We  believe  that  this 
scheme  is  less  confusing  for  beginners  than 
that  of  using  different  colors  for  the  for- 
wards and  halves  on  the  same  team,  as  is  so 
often  done.  Another  possible  device  is  that 
of  painting  the  lower  portion  of  the  sticks, 
half  of  them  red  below  the  winding  and 
half  of  them  blue.  This  device  makes  it 
easier,  in  a  close  scrimmage  around  the  goal, 
for  the  players  to  identify  each  other  and 
for  the  umpire  to  tell  whose  stick  last 
touched  the  ball  before  it  went  over  the  goal 
line.  Of  course,  the  streamers  also  may  be 
used,  to  differentiate  the  forwards  and 
halves. 

CHOOSING  THE  SQUADS 

After  three  weeks,  the  squads  are  chosen. 
Each  squad  includes  about  thirty  girls.  If 
the  institution  has  a  professional  course  in 
physical  education,  the  students  who  are 
majoring  in  this  work  may  be  used  as  assist- 
ants at  each  practise.  A  valuable  device  is 
a  card  catalog  system,  in  which  a  separate 


88  Spalding's   Tennis  Annual 

card  is  filed  for  each  girl,  giving  her  name, 
class  and  the  position  she  plays.  The  cards 
are  arranged  alphabetically,  according  to 
classes.  After  each  practise,  comments  con- 
cerning the  ability  of  the  girl  in  her  position 
are  entered  on  these  cards.  These  comments 
are  made  by  the  student  assistants  from  the 
professional  course,  the  instructors,  and  by 
the  upper  class  managers,  girls  elected  the 
previous  season.  This  method  greatly  facili- 
tates the  choosing  of  the  squads,  and  makes 
it  much  less  probable  that  promising  ma- 
terial will  be  overlooked. 

CHOOSING  THE  TEAMS 
The  following  week  the  first  and  second 
teams  are  chosen.  The  first  team  is  chosen 
from  the  squad  and  includes  about  fifteen 
players.  The  second  team  is  comprised  of 
girls  who  are  just  a  little  below  squad  ma- 
terial. In  this  case,  the  Woman's  Athletic 
Association  operates  on  a  point  system  and 
a  girl  is  awarded  100  points  the  first  time  she 
makes  a  first  team,  and  50  points  for  each 
subsequent  time.  Making  the  squad  gives 


Spalding's  Athletic  Library  89 

her  25  points,  and  the  second  team  15  points. 
The  scholastic  standing  of  each  girl  is  looked 
up  before  she  is  put  on  any  of  these  teams, 
and  any  girl  who  is  on  probation  or  has  any 
incomplete  work  is  ineligible.  Each  girl 
who  makes  squad  or  first  team  is  given  also 
an  additional  heart  examination.  No  girl 
is  allowed  to  play  hockey  at  all  whose  health 
grade  from  her  medical  examination  is  be- 
low "b,"  unless  she  has  special  permission 
from  the  clinic.  Every  girl  about  whom 
there  is  the  slightest  question  is  required  to 
take  an  additional  medical  examination  be- 
fore going  into  competitive  games.  All  on 
these  teams  observe  training  rules  which 
are  drawn  up  by  the  Women's  Athletic 
Association. 

When  these  teams  are  selected,  there  are 
still  about  1 80  girls  left.  We  feel  that  these 
girls  who  are  not  naturally  so  athletically 
inclined  are  just  the  ones  who  especially 
need  those  benefits  which  are  to  be  derived 
from  group  contests.  So  eight  "color"  teams 
are  organized,  regardless  of  class,  each  with 
its  captain.  These  teams  are  arranged  as 


90  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 

evenly  as  possible,  taking  into  consideration 
the  positions  of  the  players  and  their  relative 
skill.  The  color  teams  then  have  a  tourna- 
ment, the  games  being  run  off  as  "double 
headers"  late  in  the  afternoon,  in  order  to 
minimize  the  conflicts  with  other  classes. 

MATCH  GAMES 

The  last  two  weeks  are  spent  entirely  in 
match  games.  Each  girl,  then,  it  is  evident, 
is  a  member  of  some  team,  and  does  not  feel 
that  just  because  she  did  not  make  first  or 
second  team,  that  she  is  "out  of  it''  for  the 
rest  of  the  season.  Too  often  there  is  a 
tendency  toward  the  last  of  the  season  for 
the  instructor  to  give  all  of  her  time  to  work- 
ing up  the  first  teams,  to  the  detriment  of 
the  girl  who  is  not  a  "natural  born"  athlete 
but  who  needs  even  more  the  invigorating 
and  wholesome  effects  of  group  competition. 

Each  class,  then,  is  represented  by  three 
teams,  and  there  is  a  series  of  inter-first, 
inter-squad  and  inter-second  team  games. 
Each  class  plays  every  other  class  in  that 
group.  In  the  color  tournament,  due  to  the 


Spaldings  Athletic  Library  9 1 

limitation  of  time  in  a  seven  weeks  season, 
each  of  the  eight  teams  cannot  play  each  of 
the  others,  but  everyone  may  have  at  least 
four  match  games.  At  the  end  of  the  sea- 
son, a  Varsity  team,  which  is  honorary  only, 
is  chosen  from  the  first  teams,  and  the  sea- 
son ends  with  a  spread  for  all  those  who 
came  out  for  hockey  at  which  Varsity  is  an- 
nounced and  the  class  managers  elected  for 
the  following  year. 

An  explanatory  diagram  showing  the 
arrangement  of  groups  in  accordance  with 
the  foregoing  article  will  be  found  on  fol- 
lowing page. 


S  paid  ing's  Athletic  Library  93 


EXPLANATION 

1.  Each  class  has  general  practise  in  class  sections  for 
three  weeks. 

2.  (a)   The  thirty  best  players  from  each  class  are 
chosen  for  the  class  squad ;  the  fifteen  next  best 
players  are  chosen  for  the  class  second  team. 

(b)  Those  who  are  on  neither  squad  nor  second 
team  are  arranged  on  color  teams,  irrespective  of 
class. 

3.  After  two  weeks  of  squad  practise,  the  fifteen  best 
players  on  the  squad  are  chosen  for  the  first  team 
and  the  remaining  fifteen  are  organized  into  a  squad 
team. 

The  last  two  weeks  are  spent  in  competitive  games, 
which  are  arranged  as  follows: 

Inter-First  Team         Inter-Squad    Inter-Second  Team 
Games  Games  Games 


1.  Junior — Freshman. 

2.  Senior — Sophomore. 

3.  Junior — Sophomore. 

4.  Senior — Freshman. 

5.  Freshman — Sophomore. 

6.  Junior — Senior. 

This  makes  a  series  of  18  games. 

Color  Tournament 

1.  Black— Purple. 

2.  Pink—Blue. 

3.  Lavender — Yellow. 

4.  Green — Red.  etc 


94  Spalding's  Athletic  Library 


GLOSSARY 

Attacking  Team — The  group  of  players  which  is  carry- 
ing the  ball  into  its  opponent's  territory  in  the  ef- 
fort to  make  a  goal. 

Bully — The  act  of  putting  the  ball  into  play  by  two 
opponents,  who  stand  squarely  facing  the  side  lines 
with  the  ball  between  them.  Each  then  taps  the 
ground  with  her  stick,  on  the  right  side  of  the 
ball,  and  then  her  opponent's  stick,  three  times 
alternately,  after  which  each  is  at  liberty  to  put 
the  ball  into  play. 

Corner — A  free  hit  awarded  the  attacking  team  when 
the  ball  glances  off  or  is  unintentionally  sent  be- 
hind the  goal  line  by  any  player  of  the  defending 
team  behind  the  25  yard  line.  It  is  taken  on  the 
goal  or  side  line  within  3  yards  of  the  nearest 
corner,  and  usually  by  a  half-back  or  wing.  All 
the  players  of  the  defending  team  must  be  behind 
their  goal  line  and  all  the  remaining  players  of 
the  attacking  team  outside  the  striking  circle. 

Defending  Team — The  group  of  players  which  is  in  its 
own  territory  and  is  attempting  to  defend  its  goal 
against  the  opposing  team. 

Dribbling — The  act  of  sending  the  ball  along  by  a 
series  of  short  strokes  which  keep  it  in  motion 
within  the  control  of  the  player. 

Free  Hit — A  hit  awarded  to  the  opponent  on  the  spot 
where  a  certain  foul  has  occurred  and  in  which 
no  other  player  is  allowed  to  stand  within  5  yards 
of  the  player  striking  the  ball. 


Spalding*s  Athletic  Library  95 

Off-side — When  a  player  hits  or  rolls  in  the  ball,  any 
other  player  is  off-side  if  she  fulfills  three  condi- 
tions : 

(a)  If  she  is  in  her  opponent's  half  of  the  field. 

(b)  If  she  is  nearer  her  opponent's  goal  line 
than  the  striker  or  roller-in. 

(c)  If   there   are   not   three  of   her   opponents 
nearer  their  goal  line  than  she. 

There  is  no  penalty  for  merely  standing  in  an 
"off-side"  position,  but  only  if  the  player  when  in 
such  position  gains  any  advantage  or  plays  the  ball. 

Penalty  Bully — A  penalty  imposed  upon  the  defending 
team  for  a  wilful  violation  of  the  rules  within 
the  striking  circle,  or  when  a  goal  would  most 
probably  have  been  scored  except  for  the  occur- 
rence of  the  foul.  It  is  seldom  imposed  and  is 
played  off  in  accordance  with  specified  rules. 

Penalty  Corner — A  free  hit  which  differs  from  the  cor- 
ner hit  only  in  that  it  may  be  taken  from  any  point 
on  the  goal  line  farther  than  10  yards  from  the 
nearest  goal  post.  It  is  awarded  to  the  attacking 
team  when  the  defending  team  intentionally  sends 
the  ball  behind  the  goal  line,  makes  "sticks"  in  the 
striking  circle,  or  unintentionally  commits  any 
foul  in  the  striking  circle  when  a  goal  would  not 
have  been  made. 

Roll-in — The  act  by  which  the  ball  is  put  into  play 
after  it  has  gone  out  of  bounds  over  the  side  line 
It  is  rolled  in  by  hand  from  the  point  at  which 
it  crossed  the  line,  and  by  one  of  the  team  opposite 
to  that  of  the  player  who  last  touched  it. 

"Sticks" — The  name  given  to  the  foul  which  occurs 
when  any  part  of  the  stick  rises  above  the  player's 
shoulders,  either  at  the  beginning  or  end  of  the 
stroke. 


Spalding 
Imported  Field  Hockey  Sticks 

Great  Britain  is  the  home  of  Field  Hockey.  With  their  own  factory 
at  Putney-on-Thames  and  stores  in  London  and  the  principal  cities  of. 
the  British  Isles,  A.  G.  Spalding  &  Bros,  are  most  favorably  situated  to 
obtain  the  best  materials  and  the  most  skillful  workmen  for  the  manu- 
facture of  Spalding  hockey  sticks.  It  takes  long  experience  to  be  able 
to  properly  fashion  the  '"bulger"  head — which  cannot  be  acceptably 
accomplished  by  machinery  but  must  be  entirely  hand  shaped — and  to 
obtain  the  nicety  of  balance  that  the  expert  player  demands.  In  fact, 
unless  one  is  familiar  with  the  game  itself  and  its  requirements — as  are 
most  of  the  workers  in  the  Spalding  English  factory — it  is  practically 
impossible  to  get  the  desired  "feel"  and  balance  so  essential  in  any  first 
class  implement  of  sport.  As  "a  good  stick  is  half  the  game,"  the 
excellent  quality  of  these  sticks — which  are  now  listed  at  reduced  prices 
— will  cause  them  to  become  very  popular  in  the  United  States. 

Every  Spalding  Field  Hockey  stick  has  an  all-cane  handle  inserted 
in  the  head  of  the  stick,  a  feature  which  will  instantly  commend  itself. 
The  resiliency  of  the  cane  eliminates  the  sting  common  to  the  old- 
fashioned  solid  wood  handle  and  also  ensures  greater  accuracy  in  hit- 
ting, while  the  balance  is  so  placed  that  the  full  weight  of  the  stroke 
is  obtained  with  a  minimum  of  effort.  Every  handle  is  whipped  with 
waxed  twine  to  prevent  slipping. 

Miss  Constance  M.  K.  Applebee,  Director  of  Athletics  at  Bryn  Mawr 
College,  who  introduced  Field  Hockey  in  the  girls'  colleges  in  the 
United  States,  personally  selected  the  models  shown  on  following 
pages  as  best  adapted  for  the  various  requirements  of  play,  and  each 
club  will  be  stamped  with  her  name  in  conjunction  with  the  Spalding 
trade  mark.  In  Light,  Medium  and  Heavy  weights. 


^palding 


Cross  section  of'The 
Spalding"  showing 
built-up  cant-  handle 
and  double  rubber 
insert. 


("Applebee") 

The  highest  quality  field  hockey  stick  made. 
Head  of  the  finest  specially  selected  English  ash. 
bulger  style.  Double  insert  of  best  rubber  strips 
full  length  of  built-up  cane  handle,  giving  extra 
strength  and  resiliency  and  absorbing  shock  of 
impact  with  the  ball.  Handle  inserted  in  head 
and  whipped  with  waxed  twine.  Perfect  bal- 
ance. Weights  from  19  to  23  ounces. 

'The  Spalding"  Field  Hockev 
stick  is  used  by  leading  players  in 
Great  Britain  on  account  of  its 
strength,  splendid  balance  and 
driving  qualities  which,  combined 
with  a  minimum  of  weight,  assures 
accuracy  of  stroke,  so  essential  in 
match  game  play. 


Price,  each,  $8.00 


LJJLLSOj 


O/? 


e 

("Applebee") 


Head  of  selected  English  ash,  bulger  style,  with 
built-up  cane  handle,  giving  strength  and  spring. 
Handle  inserted  in  head  and  twine-whipped. 
Weights  from  18  to  22  ounces.  An  excellent 
stick  for  general  use  by  college  and  club  players. 

'Price,  each,  $5.00 


In  his  book,  "Learning  to  Play  Field 
Hc.ckey,"  published  in  Spalding's  Ath- 
letic Library,  Mr.  Eustace  E.  White, 
the  leading  authority  on  the  game  in 
Clreat  Britain,  writes:  "I  am  more  con- 
vinced than  ever  that  one  of  the  very 
worst  faults  in  ladies'  hockey,  one  that 
does  more  harm  than  any  other,  cramp- 
ing the  game,  doing  physical  harm  to  the 
player  and  preventing  her  full  enjoy- 
ment of  hockey,  is  the  use  of  a  too  heavy 
stick." 


Field 


("Applebee") 

An  excellent  practice  stick  for  schools  and 
junior  club  players.  Head  of  English  ash, 
bulger  style,  with  inserted  one-piece  cane 
handle,  twine  whipped.  Weights  from  18 
to  20  ounces.  "The  Field"  is  a  very  popu- 
lar stick  in  schools  and  has  given  great 
satisfaction. 

'Price,  each,  $4.00 


Mr.  Eustace  E.  White  saj's: 
"The  use  of  a  too  heavy  stick  is 
the  easiest  fault  of  all  to  cure,  and 
yet  the  most  difficult.  Let  me  ex- 
plain this  seeming  paradox.  It  is 
an  easy  matter  to  buy  a  lighter 
stick,  but  a  most  difficult  one  to  con- 
vince players  of  the  need  to  do  so. 
A  great  deal  of  bad,  slow,  faulty 
shooting  is  due  to  heavy  sticks." 


Spalding  Field  Hockey  Uniforms 


The  regulation  field  hockey  costume  con- 
sists of  a  short  skirt  made  of  college  or 
club  colors,  with  scant  bloomers  worn  un- 
derneath; or  the  regulation  gymnasium 
bloomers,  not  too  full,  may  be  used. 

The  blouse  may  be  either  a  spo'rt  shirt  of 
white  material  or  a  white  middy  with  jer- 
sey and  tie  in  college  or  club  colors. 

The  Spalding  regulation  hockey  shoe  is 
made  in  accordance  with  the  models  used 
by  leading  hockey  teams,  and  assures  fit 
and  wearing  quality  without  sacrificing  ap- 
pearance. 

Shin  guards,  either  with  or 
without  ankle  pads,  should  be 
worn  by  all  players. 

Cloves  are  usually  worn. 
Either  golf  or  cricket  gloves 
would  be  appropriate. 

The  uniform  as  described  above  is  the 
regulation  girls'  hockey  costume,  and  its 
use  should  be  insisted  upon  in  order  to 
play  the  game  successfully. 

Inquiries  concerning  Spalding  Field 
Hockey  Uniforms  may  be  addressed  to  any 
Spalding  store  I  see  list  on  inside  cover 
page) . 

SOUTHERN  BRANCH, 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA, 

LIRRARY. 


ANULLLS,  CALIF. 


